To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Dr. Casey Bitting, DO, Coroner, Coroner’s Office
Prepared By:
prepared
Daria Skorka, Autopsy/ Histology Technician, Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office
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presenter
Presenter:
Daria Skorka, Autopsy/ Histology Technician, Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office
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Subject:
title
11:15 AM *Grant Opportunity: Department of Justice Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement 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 a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice to update equipment for the histology lab.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Leverage technology to improve governance and service delivery.
Background and Discussion: The Coroner’s Office would like to submit a grant application to the Department of Justice to upgrade the ACCO’s Histology Lab.
The Department of Justice Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program supports the improvement of forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services provided by laboratories and offices.
Our current equipment within the lab is 20+ years old. The equipment risks breaking down before we can afford new equipment for the lab. Due to the age of equipment, we cannot get them serviced. Additionally, when the equipment breaks down, we have to pay to ship specimens 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. We are concerned about impacts on quality control and risks of specimens becoming lost or damaged by shipping them out of our custody. By upgrading our equipment, we will be able to produce better quality histology slides that provide cause and manner of death for the citizens of Arapahoe County.
The budget and project scope is being prepared and finalized but is expected to be over $100,000.
The deadline to apply for this grant is November 5, 2026. The grant period lasts 36 months.
Alternatives: The Board could decline to move forward with this request as presented or determine another amount.
Fiscal Impact: If approved as presented, the fiscal impact to Arapahoe County will be a small amount of staff time to submit the grant application and potential grant funds received if the application is successful.
Alignment with Strategic Implementation Strategies: N/A
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends moving forward with the grant application.
Concurrence: N/A