BJS FY 13 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks to establish a cooperative agreement with a collection agent to field the 2014 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories (CPFFCL14). The key activities covered under this award include updating the national census roster of publicly funded crime labs, developing the data collection instrument (i.e., questionnaire), collecting and verifying the data submitted by labs, and delivering to BJS a final data file. BJS will provide the recipient of funds with a draft of the questionnaire and a preliminary census roster of approximately 460 labs at the beginning of the project. During the first quarter of 2015, the recipient of funds will begin collecting data on the workload and operations of federal, state, county, and municipal crime labs in 2014, including budgets, staffing levels, types of analyses performed, backlogs for forensic services, and accreditations. BJS anticipates making one award for a 24-month period under this solicitation, with an award date on or after October 1, 2013. BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Section 302.