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HFSC board approves contracts to outsource forensic testing as backlogs persist
Summary
The Houston Forensic Science Center board approved three outsourcing agreements — with Tarrant County, Bodie Selmark Forensics and Signature Science — to help reduce firearms, DNA and sexual assault kit backlogs while HFSC hires and trains permanent staff.
The Houston Forensic Science Center Board of Directors voted to authorize multiple outsourcing agreements intended to reduce case backlogs while the agency adds and trains permanent staff.
Peter Stout, HFSC president and CEO, told the board the firearms backlog has held “right around 350 exams,” representing roughly 12 to 18 months of turnaround time. Stout said HFSC is pursuing short-term outsourcing and longer-term workforce development to prevent trials from being delayed by evidence processing shortages.
To expand capacity immediately, the board approved continuing an interlocal agreement with Tarrant County to handle limited firearms examinations. COO Amy Castillo described the Tarrant arrangement as part of a larger $100,000 project, with $88,140 remaining to renew the ILA. The board approved that contract by voice vote.
The board also approved authority for HFSC’s president to negotiate and enter a contract with Bodie Selmark Forensics Inc. to process non–sexual-assault-kit forensic biology work, at a total budget not to exceed $550,000. Castillo said HFSC split the work across vendors after an RFP and will phase in outsourcing while hiring roughly 20 biology staff over five years.
For sexual-assault-kit testing (SAKs), the board delegated authority to President Stout to negotiate a one-year contract with Signature Science LLC, not to exceed $2,050,000, to process the higher-volume SAK caseload.
Stout and Castillo emphasized that outsourcing is a temporary tool while HFSC increases in-house capacity. Stout noted training arcs are long — a new firearms examiner typically requires about two years of training — and that outsourcing and a new apprenticeship pilot are intended to provide immediate relief without sacrificing quality.
The agreements passed on voice votes. The board’s action keeps HFSC using external partners while it brings more staff online and progresses on storage and property changes discussed earlier in the meeting.
