2009 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking proposals for an agent to develop, design, and field the 2009 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories. The goal of this project is to generate accurate and reliable national statistics about the approximately 400 publicly funded forensic crime labs serving federal, state, and local jurisdictions. The census will be conducted in 2010 and collect information on the 2009 workload and operations of crime labs, including the types of analyses performed, staff levels, budget expenditures, and backlogs for forensic services. Under this solicitation, the selected applicant, in cooperation with BJS and experts in the field, will design, test, and administer the collection instrument. The selected applicant will be required to deliver a final data file to BJS by January 31, 2011. Applicants are encouraged to review previous BJS studies on forensic crime laboratories at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs. BJS will provide the selected applicant with a preliminary roster of labs. BJS anticipates making one award for a 16-month period under this solicitation, with an award date on or after October 1, 2009. BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c).