Arapahoe coroner seeks permission to apply for $450,000 drug-testing grant
The proposed federal grant would fund toxicology testing in drug-related cases and a part-time epidemiologist; without replacement funding, the office says it would test fewer cases.
Arapahoe County commissioners are scheduled to consider Sept. 29 whether to let the Coroner’s Office apply for a $450,000 federal grant to fund toxicology testing in drug-related cases and a part-time epidemiologist. Without replacement funding, the office says its pathologist would send fewer cases for testing.
The proposed grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance would also support more detailed demographic information about drug-related deaths for public agencies and the Coroner’s Office’s public dashboard, the county’s Board Summary Report says.
The current Paul Coverdell grant pays for toxicology testing in suicidal and accidental deaths and is scheduled to end, the report says. The county could continue paying for testing, but the pathologist would send fewer cases to the National Medical Science Laboratory. County annual reporting would still provide basic information about drug-related deaths.
The county agenda lists the application request for the board’s Sept. 29 study session. The grant is proposed, not awarded.