Forensic sciences office warns FY26 cuts and loss of federal grant will slow testing and lengthen jail time
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Summary
The Institute of Forensic Sciences (IFS) told commissioners Sept. 2 that a proposed FY26 reduction of roughly $1.7 million — including a smaller CLS award than requested — together with the sudden disappearance of a $1.2 million federal grant, will put lab and medical‑examiner operations at risk, slow testing turnaround, and raise
The Institute of Forensic Sciences (IFS) told commissioners on Sept. 2 that FY26 budget proposals and a discontinued federal grant create a shortfall that will slow crime‑lab and medical‑examiner work and risk creating backlogs that keep people in custody longer and delay case processing.
Julie Preine, IFS chief of staff, and Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Pramod Gumpani described the office’s workload and the financial gap. IFS said it certified more than 6,400 deaths in 2024 and the crime laboratory received evidence for almost 23,000 cases last year from local law enforcement and the medical examiner. IFS said it performs testing in‑house rather than outsourcing and currently has little-to-no backlog in many disciplines.
Preine said IFS requested roughly $54 million for FY26; the proposed budget in the county book was about $45.5 million. IFS sought $680,000 in CLS (capital/limited spending) for equipment and received $382,000. More significantly, Preine said a recurring federal grant of about $1.2 million that supported DNA testing supplies, sexual‑assault‑kit testing and overtime has been discontinued at the federal level; she said the lab will not receive that grant in FY26 and the loss compounds the proposed local reductions.
Dr. Gumpani said the medical examiner’s office also faces vacancies in critical clinical roles: four of 15 current open positions are assistant medical examiners (forensic pathologists), a highly specialized role that takes many years of postgraduate training. He said two assistant medical examiners had started in July and others remain under active recruitment but that hiring forensic pathologists is slow nationwide.
IFS provided performance context: in July 2025 the lab’s reported average turnaround times were 11 days for drug‑chemistry cases involving people in custody and 16 days for DWI testing. Preine said loss of grant funding and the CLS reduction will make it difficult to preserve those turnaround times, and that slower testing raises the risk of more people held in jail while evidence is pending and longer court delays. The lab also warned that losing staff could push it toward relying on contract pathologists and lab contractors; that produces extra cost and degraded continuity of service.
IFS asked the court to consider restoring non‑labor and CLS funding and to note the federal grant discontinuation as a county budget pressure.
Speakers quoted: Julie Preine (Chief of Staff, IFS); Dr. Pramod Gumpani (Deputy Chief Medical Examiner).
