To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Kelly Lear, MD, Coroner, Coroner's Office
Prepared By:
prepared
Daria Skorka, Autopsy/Histology Technician, Coroner's Office
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presenter
Presenter: Daria Skorka, Autopsy/Histology Technician, Coroner's Office
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Subject:
title
2:30 PM *DOJ Grant Opportunity: Forensic Science Improvement and Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant Program
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this request is for the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to consider approving the electronic submission of two grant applications to the U.S. Department of Justice to update equipment for the histology lab in the Coroner's Office, fund MDI training and get assistance with identifying unidentified cases.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Leverage technology to improve governance and service delivery.
Background and Discussion: The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office (ACCO) would like to submit a grant application to the Department of Justice to upgrade the ACCO's Histology Lab, get assistance with identifying human remains and fund medicolegal death investigator training for ABMDI certification.
The Department of Justice Forensic Science Improvement and Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant Program supports the improvement of forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services provided by laboratories and offices.
The current equipment within the lab is 20+ years old. The equipment risks breaking down before funds are available to purchase new equipment for the lab. Due to the age of equipment, they can no longer be serviced. Additionally, when the equipment breaks down, specimens must be shipped to turn them into histological slides, which comes from the county budget. This slows down turnaround time for the medical examiners to review for autopsy reports and death certificates. There is a real concern about impacting quality control and the risk of specimens beco...
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