The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) will assist the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in hosting the National Opioid and Emerging Drug Threats Policy and Practice Forum on July 18 – 19, 2019 in Washington, D.C. The forum will take place at the Marriott Metro Center.
This NIJ Policy and Practice Forum will build off the momentum of the widespread stakeholder meetings convened to discuss the drug threats and the consequences of this national epidemic on the public safety and health and the criminal justice response. This forum will disseminate topics at a policy level that are being discussed in more focused and often closed forums and will pay particular attention to addressing best practices for forensic laboratories.
This forum will promote cooperative initiatives to leverage available funding as efficiently as possible; identify and promote scientific research, best practices, and lessons learned for forensic science organizations and practitioners; assess strategies to improve surveillance methodologies to encourage use and collaboration of existing programs, such as the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program, National Forensic Laboratory Information System, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, and Centers for Disease Control Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance program; and identify strategies for workforce development, casework efficiency, and related issues related to increased caseloads in forensic science organizations.