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HFSC quality director reports accreditation progress and discloses outsourced‑lab inventory error reported to TFSC
Summary
Quality Director Jackie Morrell told the board that client services case management reassessment is scheduled for Dec. 10, internal safety/facilities audits found minor security nonconformances, and Signature Sciences notified HFSC of an intake‑phase inventory technician error; the Texas Forensic Science Commission reviewed the disclosure and took no further action after corrective measures.
Jackie Morrell, HFSC quality director, briefed the board on accreditation and internal quality efforts and summarized a recent Texas Forensic Science Commission (TFSC) disclosure involving an outsourced laboratory.
Morrell said the client services case management (CSEM) unit will have an accreditation reassessment on Dec. 10 and that HFSC has prepared documentation of conformance for more than 77 accreditation clauses. She also reported results from an internal safety, security and facilities audit: no nonconformances were found for safety and facilities, but the security area had five minor nonconformances and several opportunities for improvement; staff are updating policies and processes to avoid future nonconformances.
On the TFSC matter, Morrell described a disclosure by Signature Sciences (HFSC’s outsourced biology lab) in which an inventory technician at intake—an employee who did not perform analytical work—showed a higher than normal level of administrative inaccuracies. Signature Sciences permanently removed the technician from the forensic side and conducted a root‑cause analysis and corrective actions; TFSC commissioners reviewed the disclosure and voted that no further action was necessary. Morrell said HFSC informed stakeholders to enable evidence verification if cases required it.
The board recorded a unanimous voice vote accepting the presentation. Morrell offered to provide additional documentation on request and the board did not vote on any related policy changes at the meeting.
