Application for Base and Competitive Funds for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the State Police Forensic Laboratory

BASE FORMULA GRANT: As in years past, the Coverdell base grant funding will be used to provide a part time contract evidence technician at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and to provide overtime at the Forensic Laboratory to help clear up the backlog of forensic testing, particularly drug cases from our astronomical increase in drug overdose deaths in 2015. Sometimes it can take months for our pathologists to inform families of the cause and manner of death of their loved one because of the backlog of testing and also the backlog of cataloguing the evidence.
COMPETITIVE GRANT: Our Chief Medical Examiner has been requesting help via a third pathologist for many years. Currently there are only two pathologists in the entire state who are authorized to perform autopsies. With the huge increase in drug overdose deaths in 2015, the backlog of cataloguing and testing forensic evidence has increased, as well as the number of autopsies that are required to be performed. Our statutes are very clear: these drug deaths must be investigated and the cause and manner of death must be determined, which can only be done through autopsies/forensic examinations. With the addition of a pathologist and an office manager, the OCME will be much more efficient, will perform its critical duties in a timely manner, and will streamline the collection and cataloguing of forensic evidence, reports and data. ca/ncf