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Site Coordinator, Kate Hemann, provided update on status of their SAKI grant.
Hired new grant manager and trying to figure out how she can help
Lindsay and Marty are working on the partially tested inventories
Create a job posting with technology person to help with the data (SAMS management)
Work with crime lab so they can submit spreadsheet into SAMS
Kate is still waiting for Mr. Ferguson to review website so then they can submit to BJA for review/approval
Cold case training in Thurston Co. on September 17; have not made a decision about whether attending Statewide Workshop
Tried to extend contract with Sorenson an additional 3 years. But then Sorenson said they wanted $1200 per kit.
- Decided they would have to put out for competitive bid.
- 2 contracts with Sorenson, one that ends June 30 and the other ends December 30. This should give enough time get a competitive bid in place.
- Sorenson called 2 weeks ago and said, "don't send us any kits, because we are reviewing all of our existing contracts." Came back with revisions to contracts and some of their revisions are law requirements. Sorenson is required to send WA crime lab y-cuttings, but they don't want to any more.
- Denise from crime lab called Sorenson and asked them to test a reference order and will not test any new kits or kits currently in their possession. Contract will be broken. If that happens, they will not be sending any new kits until a new contract is executed.
Bill passed to put moratorium on destroying unreported kits
- Crime lab offered to store the kits but said they won't take blood and urine (so now they have to figure out where those materials will be stored)
Inventory
? Done Phase 1 and Phase 2
? Partially tested - finding unsubmitted kits (technically), sent to crime lab for testing and the kit wasn't tested because testing was canceled. As a result, updating SAMs to reflect true number of untested.
? Partially tested: there are some kits that LEAs are sending were not the inventory (they are not partially tested kits, they are fully tested kits)
? 7445 reports for kits that they have to review
§ Reviewed 1259 and 427 of those met the definition of partially tested
? Of those 427, 388 came from crime lab as meeting the definition
of partially tested
? Of the 370 kits Marty and Lindsay have reviewed 39 met the
definition
Lindsay and Marty working on partially tested kit
• Tacoma, Spokane and Vancouver lab
• Seattle and Marysville
Sorenson is taking 50-100 kits a month
• Bids for AGO's contract due Aug 2
• Kate doesn't know who they are awarding it (1 or more)
• End of year contract will be up and running
• BY law, all LEAs must submit all kits by end of October
• Kate is creating a list of contact information
• Starting to submit kits
Budget meeting last week
• Hiring 2 data compilers now
? Start working on the reports that are archived
? Kate plans to reach out to BJA after they complete Seattle and Marysville (will be about 2500 reports reviewed), see if they'll release a little more funding since progress has been made
? Now that we know how many have been reviewed and which ones are partially tested and it's helpful that there are a small number of kits that are partially tested
? We don't have to actually review all of them because we know they aren't partially tested (for example if they went to Sorenson)
? In Archives, they said they need to know which box number the reports are in (lab did this in advance)
? Spokane 1176 at Spokane crime lab, but when you take the ones that went to Sorenson (about 650)
? The problem is Kate has to enter these data into SAMS and we're trying to figure out the best way to do data dumps into SAMS and things don't match up perfectly
? All kits inventoried are in SAMS, but not all had lab number, they had agency case number. So then they added the ORI # which is unique to each LEA
? Finding problems with SAMS
§ The more important thing is that is they're tracking - they are making progress
? Crime lab does not distinguish between
§ Send monthly spreadsheets (received, completed, CODIS upload, CODIS match)
SAFE Taskforce moved to AGO and is now an advisory group (not funded through legislative)
• First meeting on Tuesday
• Completed a big agenda
• Gives a little more room to control thing
• The big thing is the unreported kits
• If a kit turns into a reported kit; LEA would not know that because the SANE report is inside the kit and they don't open the kits
• The Tox lab is freaking out because they are worried that legislators will mandate that all blood/urine is tested for all sexual assaults
Statewide Workshop
• All 3 people are going
• Kate is going to the WAPA training in Leavenworth
Summit of the Cities
• All of the legislators from WA go and so someone from SAKI WA may go to hear the information first hand and want to present on WA first
Action Item: Merissa to determine whether PA 1 can be used to pay for testing partially tested kits
Applied for additional PA 1 and PA 3.
Plan to apply for PA4 next year.
Merissa and Kate spoke about WA's plan to address PA 3. They have designated 3 buckets of people that qualify as legally required to provide DNA. Those buckets include (1) dead people; (2) people in DOC custody; and (3) presumed alive, not in DOC custody. Also spoke about them finishing up their contract with Sorenson at end of Dec. and have issued contracts with DNA Lab International and Bode. Their next area of focus is looking into lack of consistency for SANE training. Kate is exploring idea of creating new position at AG's office as the SANE coordinator that would coordinate all SANE trainings statewide.
Talked about progress (or lack thereof) to get WAPA's input on Pattie Powers to deliver a training on cold case prosecution. Talked through the struggle that they are facing in terms of the tension between community based advocates and systems based advocates. Several members of the SAFE Advisory Group do not endorse systems based advocates.
• Finished all 5 labs
• Hiring data person to complete archives
• About half way done with partially tested
• Will likely apply for a release of additional 25% of funding
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