Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2023, $395,280)
The DuPage County Forensic Science Center (DCFSC) is a forensic science laboratory that analyzes evidence items from approximately 40 law enforcement agencies within DuPage County, Illinois. The DNA Section is an NDIS-participating laboratory and offers DNA analysis of casework samples.
Funds in the amount of $395,280 are requested. A portion of the grant funds will pay for overtime for DNA analysts, to be used specifically when it is necessary to prevent a backlog. A smaller portion of grant funds will pay for overtime for the analysts to engage in validation or grant support activities. The capacity of the laboratory will be increased by grant funding of supplies needed for additional casework and replacement of aging equipment, with a small portion funding supplies for validation experiments. Grant funded continuing education will improve the current analysts' scientific expertise, enable the laboratory to comply with QAS requirements, and keep our Technical Leader abreast of the policies and procedures governing the national CODIS database.
Together, these funded items will allow the laboratory to work toward the goal of increasing capacity and reducing the forensic casework turn-around time so that the backlog can, in turn, be reduced or eliminated.