Fiscal Year 2019 Report on the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program

• NCJ Number: 255238
• Date Published: September 2020
• Length: 3 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic); Program/Project Description; Grants and Funding

Annotation

Activities during Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 are reported for the U.S. Justice Department's Paul Coverdell National Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program, which provides funding to states and units of local government to improve the quality and timeliness of their forensic science and medical-examiner services.

Abstract

In order to assist in addressing opioid-related challenges faced by the forensic science community, the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which administers the Coverdell Grants Program, identified opioid-focused forensic science needs as a priority purpose for grants in FY 2019. NIJ requested that applicants identify items related to addressing the opioid crisis in their narratives and budgets. The funding directed toward these efforts will depend on need, as expressed in the aggregate dollar value of budget items designated to address the opioid crisis. On April 5, 2019, NIJ released two solicitations seeking applications for funding under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program. NIJ received 140 applications 55 for formula funding and 85 for competitive funding. One application for formula funding was a duplicate of an earlier application. NIJ made 80 awards totaling $27,370,932; 54 states received formula awards, and eight states and 18 units of local government received competitive awards. This report provides on-line access to abstracts about each project, written by the awardees.