FY 2019 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant-Competitive for Erie County, New York

The Erie County Forensic Toxicology Laboratory needs to become accredited under the ISO 17025:2017 standard under ANAB. The award will be utilized to fund overtime for seven Toxicology Personnel to work one hour per week over a year on projects associated with the new accreditation requirements. The award will be used to replace an outdated GC-MS that has the ability to use “Fast Oven” technology to reduce screening time by 80% and upgrade an existing system to duplicate the new system that will eliminate downtime associated with instrument maintenance. To support this technology, electrical upgrades to the laboratory instrumentation room will need to be made to add the 220V capacity required. Lastly, the award will be used to support seven laboratory personnel to become certified by ABFT. Funds will be used to support the application, overtime associated with the preparation class, registration fees associated with the Board Certification Prep class and travel costs associated with taking the exam at the annual Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) conference. Once the exam has been completed, funding will be used to pay registration fees to attend the conference. With additional time for projects and utilization of new fully functional equipment, the overtime funding and new equipment funding will reduce the backlog and turnaround time, thereby improving the quality and timeliness of our forensic services. Adding trained and qualified personnel to the laboratory will increase the quality of the forensic science services provided by the Laboratory.

CA/NCF