Virginia DCJS - State Coverdell Grant Program

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services serves as the SAA for FY 2024-25 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program funding.   The project involves two agencies in Virginia, the Department of Forensic Science (DFS) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The purpose of the DFS project is to support two goals: 1) Ensure that personnel in the Chemistry, Physical Evidence, and Toxicology program areas, as well as laboratory management, receive ongoing training to allow them to continue to provide timely forensic science services of the highest quality to its user agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and 2) Increase efficiency and consistency of documentation and reduce turnaround time in the Firearms & Toolmarks Section by adding two Versa portable scanners. The purpose of the OCME project is to hire a pathologist assistant to aid the Assistant Chief Medical Examiners with performing autopsies as they are increasing due to the opioid epidemic.  Also, the project aims to increase the number of board-certified forensic pathologists in Virginia and the United States that are available to assist medical examiner systems with an increasing caseload.