The kansas bureau of investigation (KBI) forensic laboratory provides accredited forensic toxicology testing for 104 of the 105 counties in kansas, supporting KBI investigations, coroners, and law…

The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the Kansas Bureau of Investigation $500,000 on May 1, 2026, under the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program (CFDA 16.742) to acquire two liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometers (LC/MSMS) for the forensic toxicology section.

The KBI operates the accredited forensic toxicology laboratory serving 104 of Kansas's 105 counties, providing testing for impaired driving, death investigation, sexual assault, and violent crime investigations. The acquisition will increase sensitivity and specificity for novel psychoactive substances and opioids while decreasing turnaround time and sample volume requirements. Expected outcomes include expanding the scope of testing with regionally relevant novel psychoactive substance analytes, reducing sample requirements for complete testing, and reducing the number of days from sample submission to final results. The lab will continue current testing operations without interruption during implementation. The work aligns with the KBI toxicology laboratory's public health partnership to support law enforcement and public health interventions intended to improve highway safety, decrease recidivism rates, and reduce overdose deaths.

Place of performance is Topeka, Kansas. The award period runs through April 30, 2029.

Purpose

Without interruption to current KBI toxicology testing, the primary goals of this project are the following. (1) improve quality of toxicology testing for kansas citizens. (2) improve timeliness of toxicology testing for kansas citizens. Proposed activity: the KBI forensic laboratory is proposing the acquisition of two liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometers (LC/msms) for the forensic toxicology section in order to increase sensitivity and specificity for potent NPS and opioids while decreasing the turnaround times and the amount of sample required for complete testing.

Expected outcomes

Expected outcomes will include expanding the scope of toxicology testing with regionally relevant NPS analytes, reducing the amount of sample needed for complete testing, and reducing the number days from sample submission to final test results. Outcomes will be accomplished without interruption to current toxicology testing. This activity will align with the KBI toxicology laboratorys current public health partnership to provide information to law enforcement and public health in order to offer more meaningful interventions and countermeasures to improve highway safety, decrease recidivism rates, and reduce overdose deathsmaking all kansas citizens safer.