2026 Coverdell Grant - Formula Application

GENERAL GRANT PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Department of Public Safety, Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP), under the Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant Program, provides financial assistance to support the enhancement of forensic science laboratories and medical examiners offices with the stated purpose of improving the quality and timeliness of forensic science and medical examiner services.

Coverdell Purposes

A state or unit of local government that receives a Coverdell grant must use the grant for one or more of these six purposes:

1. To carry out all or a substantial part of a program intended to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic science or medical examiner/coroner services in the State, including those services provided by laboratories operated by the State and those operated by units of local government within the State.
2. To eliminate a backlog in the analysis of forensic science evidence, including, among other things, a backlog with respect to firearms examination, latent prints, impression evidence, toxicology, digital evidence, fire evidence, controlled substances, forensic pathology, questioned documents, and trace evidence.
3. To train, assist, and employ forensic laboratory personnel and medicolegal death investigators as needed to eliminate such a backlog.
4. To address emerging forensic science issues (such as statistics, contextual bias, and uncertainty of measurement) and emerging forensic science technology (such as high throughput automation, statistical software, and new types of instrumentation).
5. To educate and train forensic pathologists.
6. To fund medicolegal death investigation systems to facilitate accreditation of medical examiner and coroner offices and certification of medicolegal death investigators.

Priorities

Grant funding will be prioritized to projects which address the following priorities:

· Programs designed to improve the timeliness and reduce backlogs for forensic science and medical examiner services.

· The Bureau of Justice Assistance requires that 58% (estimated) of the funding received by Iowa be utilized on programming which substantially addresses the challenges of the opioid crisis.

· Accreditation of forensic laboratories and medical examiner offices.

Funding

Funding for this solicitation is available through Iowa’s Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant allocations. Iowa is expected to receive between $250,000 and $300,000. Fifty-eight percent of the funding will be earmarked for project expenses which address the opioid crisis.

 

Evidence-Based Programs/Practices

The Office of Drug Control Policy and the Coverdell Forensic Science Program place strong emphasis on the use of data and evidence in policy making and programming. Grantees should commit to documenting and describing, to the extent possible, a data/evidence focused response to particular crime and substance abuse problem(s) in their grant applications.

For more information about evidence-based programs, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Justice, go to www.crimesolutions.gov .

*Note: Congress has appropriated funding for the 2026 Coverdell award. This funding opportunity addresses the current Coverdell grant administration requirements. Be it understood that it is the prerogative of new administrations to emphasize, impose, or remove certain administrative and programmatic grant requirements. Any revision to the grant program requirements will be shared with the person identified as the Program Director for each applicant/grantee if/when it is announced by the Trump administration. New guidance may require additional documentation/certifications.

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GRANT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Those eligible to receive grant funds through this solicitation include state and local units of government which operate a forensic laboratory.

For the purposes of this solicitation –

● Any state/local government entity performing forensic science services is considered a “forensic science laboratory.”

● Medical examiner and coroner offices are considered to be forensic science laboratories for the purposes of this solicitation.

For purposes of this solicitation, a local unit of government is defined as a city, county, town, township or other general purpose political subdivision of a state and includes Indian tribes as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.

COVERDELL SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Accreditation

Funds may be used to prepare for laboratory accreditation by an appropriate accrediting body. An applicant that proposes to use any portion of the grant amount to fund a forensic science laboratory system, including any laboratory operated by a unit of local government within the State, that is not accredited will be required to use a portion of the grant amount for accreditation purposes. Successful applicants must use grant funds to prepare and apply for accreditation not more than two (2) years after the Coverdell award date.

Program Specific Certification

Plan for Forensic Science

1. (state agencies only) are required to certify that they have developed a statewide forensic science and medical examiner plan to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic science and medical examiner services.

Generally Accepted Laboratory Practices and Procedures

Applicants are required to certify that they use generally accepted laboratory practices and procedures established by accrediting organizations or appropriate certifying bodies.

External Investigations

Applicants are required to certify that an appropriate process is in place to conduct independent external investigations into allegations of serious negligence or misconduct substantially affecting the integrity of the forensic results committed by employees or contractors.

Forensic Science Accreditation

Applicants are required to certify that they are either accredited OR not so accredited but will use a portion of the grant amount to prepare and apply for such accreditation not more than 2 years after the date on which a grant is awarded.

Potential Environmental Impact Coversheet and Checklist

Applicants are required to assess the potential environmental impacts of the activities proposed. Applicants are required to complete and attach the environmental impact coversheet and checklist.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Applications for funding must be received by ODCP through Iowa’s enterprise grant management system (www.iowagrants.gov) by 4:30 p.m. October 28, 2026.

*Note: Registration with www.iowagrants.gov is required prior to submitting an application. Registration may take several business days to complete. Do not wait until the last minute to begin your application. Difficulty with registration will not be an appealable hardship.