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I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THE BOARD MEETING, UH, TO[ Houston Forensic Science]
ORDER FOR THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK REMINDERS.
WE HAVE FIVE VOICE VOTES TODAY, SO IF ANYONE NEEDS TO LEAVE EARLY FOR ANY REASON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW NOW SO WE CAN READJUST THE AGENDA AND TAKE CARE OF ALL THE VOTING STUFF EARLY ON IF, YEAH.
I'M HOPING WE'LL BE DONE BEFORE THAT, BUT YEAH.
OKAY, SO LET, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE AS OUR, WE, WE DID CALL THE ORDER NUMBER TWO IS THE ROLL CALL.
MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES.
MADAM CHAIR CHAIRWOMAN MITCHELL.
SO, AGAIN, DUE TO THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS WE HAVE ATTENDING TODAY, I WANNA, I WOULD JUST REQUEST EVERYONE BE MINDFUL THAT WE MAY LOSE A QUORUM IF WE HAVE TO STEP OUT OF THE ROOM.
UM, AS ALWAYS, MR. DEBERRY WILL KEEP AN EYE OUT.
UH, WE ALSO NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE AWARE OF THAT TODAY, SO I'LL BE TRYING TO KEEP AN EYE OUT TOO.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
SO WE NOW OPEN THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND INVITE ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT WISHES TO SPEAK TO COME TO THE PODIUM AND ADDRESS THE BOARD.
WE ASK ALL SPEAKERS TO SIGN AT THE END, AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM SO WE CAN BE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE.
YOU MAY SPEAK ON ANY MATTER CONCERNING, UH, HFSC TO THE BOARD.
HOWEVER, YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES AT THIS TIME.
LET'S SEE, DO WE HAVE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO IS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT BEING NO ONE? UM, UH, SEE THERE ARE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HERE IN OUR AUDIENCE TODAY WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR COMMENT.
I WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
A AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS THE DRAFT MINUTES FROM JULY 8TH, 2022, BOARD MEETING.
UM, ARE THERE ANY, UH, CORRECTIONS OR, UH, THEN WE HAVE TO DO A VOICE VOTE FOR APPROVAL.
ARE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS? DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MEETING? MINUTES AS PRESENTED? OKAY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, LET'S SEE, DO WE HAVE A VOICE? VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOVE TO APPROVE.
UH, MOTION WAS MADE BY DIRECTOR MEDINA, SECOND BY DIRECTOR GOODWIN.
THE MEETING MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
AGENDA ITEM FIVE IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT.
UM, THIS IS A MONTHLY UPDATE OF SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES, REMINDERS ABOUT UPCOMING BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE AND ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS.
SO, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO REMIND THE BOARD THAT WE ARE SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS DR.
STOUT'S ANNUAL EVALUATION DURING OUR LAST BOARD MEETING OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS GOING TO BE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER THE 18TH.
SO, MARK, YOUR CALENDARS, UH, THIS MATTER WILL REQUIRE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, SO PLEASE KEEP THAT DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR AND JUST REALIZE THAT WE MAY HAVE TO BE HERE A LITTLE BIT LONGER AFTER THE MEETING SO WE CAN GO INTO, UM, EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, AS YOU HAVE NOTICED, LET'S SEE, THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING THIS YEAR IS ALSO VETERAN'S DAY AND HFSC WILL BE CLOSED FOR BUSINESS.
SO WE'VE CHANGED THE BOARD MEETING DATE TO NOVEMBER THE 18TH.
SO THAT'S NOT THE USUAL DAY OF THE WEEK, THE SECOND FRIDAY.
SO TAKE A NOTE OF THAT AND PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS.
UM, I'M ALSO AWARE THAT WE'RE HEADING INTO THAT TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN SCHEDULES GET VERY BUSY, SO I DO WANNA REMIND YOU THAT AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE NOVEMBER MEETING, WE WILL BE SENDING DETAILS REGARDING THE ANNUAL HFSC HOLIDAY PARTY, WHICH IS SET FOR THE EVENING OF SATURDAY DECEMBER THE 10TH.
IN YEARS PAST, I WAS ABLE TO REMIND THE BOARD ABOUT THE EVENT DURING OUR MEETINGS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER AND IN DECEMBER.
BUT WITH OUR NEW SCHEDULE, THAT WON'T BE POSSIBLE ALWAYS AT, WE APPRECIATE THE BOARD'S SUPPORT OF THE HOLIDAY PARTY, WHICH CELEBRATES THE HARD WORK OF OUR STAFF EACH YEAR.
YOU CAN SUPPORT THE EVENT THROUGH YOUR ATTENDANCE AS WELL AS ANY DONATIONS THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE TOWARDS THE COST.
HFSC DOES NOT USE ANY PUBLIC DOLLARS FOR THIS ACTIVITY, SO YOUR DONATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
I WANNA PUT THIS ON THE BOARD'S RADAR, WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE NOVEMBER MEETING SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME SUFFICIENT TIME, UH, TO, UH, EITHER GET IT ON YOUR CALENDAR TO ATTEND
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OR TO THINK ABOUT A POTENTIAL DONATION YOU CAN DONATE ON THE HFSC WEBSITE.AND IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO MS. DEBERRY OR MR. LEACH, OUR C OUR CFO.
UM, AND THEN WITH THAT I'M GONNA PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX.
UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX IS A DISCUSSION REGARDING THE CORPORATE'S TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
SO IF YOU'VE HEARD US TALK ABOUT THE TAG, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA TODAY ARE, UH, INCLUDING MEMBERSHIP COMPOSITION, FUTURE ADVISEMENT TO THE CORPORATION, AND OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE TAG WAS CREATED.
UM, SO MEMBERS TODAY, I INCLUDED THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA TO DISCUSS ONE OF OUR UNTAPPED RESOURCES IN THE MORE RECENT YEARS, WHICH IS OUR TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR A FEW YEARS, YOU MAY HAVE HAD SOME INTERACTIONS WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE TAG.
IN FACT, ONE OF OUR TAG MEMBERS, MR. DARRELL DAVIS, PRESENTED TO THIS BOARD ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, AND HE'S A REGULAR MEMBER, UH, A REGULAR ATTENDEE AND WATCHES THE BOARD MEETINGS, AND HE ALSO WATCHES THE VIDEOS.
UM, AS WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE VARIOUS CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL GR AREAS OF GROWTH IN THE LAB, WE HAVE BEEN THINKING OF WAYS TO MORE EFFICIENTLY UTILIZE OUR RESOURCES, WHICH INCLUDES OUR PEOPLE.
THE TAG'S PURPOSE IS TO ADVISE THIS BOARD AND THE CORPORATION ON A HOST OF ISSUES, INCLUDING BEST PRACTICES FOR LAB MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING ACCREDITATION.
THOSE AREAS ALSO INCLUDE ADVISEMENT ON QUALITY LAB STANDARDS, TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE, STANDARD PROCEDURES, AND LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. TAG MEMBERS ARE MEANT TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF A WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIENCES AND BACKGROUNDS IN THE FORENSIC COMMUNITY AND OUTSIDE.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE THIS GROUP HAS GIVEN US, ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF HFS C'S TRANSITION.
HFSC IS VERY FORTUNATE IN THAT WE'VE HAD MEMBERS OF OUR TAG WHO HAVE BEEN SERVING THE ORGANIZATION SINCE TWO THOU, UH, 2012.
I THINK IT'S TIME FOR US TO LOOK AT THE TAG AGAIN, TO REENGAGE THEM AND SEE IF THEIR SKILLS AND EXPERTISE CAN BE OF GREATER ASSISTANCE TO THE ORGANIZATION IN THE UPCOMING MONTH, MONTHS, AND YEARS AS HFSC HAS GROWN AND CHANGED, SO HAVE OUR NEEDS AND THIS GROUP MAY BE ABLE TO ASSIST US WITH SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
I REACHED OUT TO THE CURRENT SEVEN TAG MEMBERS TO SEE IF THEY'RE ABLE AND WILLING TO CONTINUE THEIR ROLES.
APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO REMAIN, AND SO NOW WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REASSESS WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF EXPERTISE, SKILLS, AND BACKGROUNDS.
WE ALSO HAVE A VACANCY IN THE APPOINTMENT OF A BOARD MEMBER TO SERVE AS OUR NEW TAG LIAISON.
WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO THE BOARD TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON RE-ENGAGING THIS GROUP AND POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING A FEW NEW MEMBERS FOR APPOINTMENT.
WE DO NOT HAVE SET TERMS FOR SERVICE OF THE FOR THE TAG, HOWEVER, THEY DO SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD.
ALSO, IF MEMBERS THINK THERE ARE AREAS OF EXPERTISE WE NEED TO EXPLORE OR, OR PERHAPS IF WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY CURRENT ISSUES AND PROJECTS WHERE AN EXPERT'S VOICE WOULD ADD TO THE DISCUSSION, ALL OF THIS WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR ME AND THE, AND THE CORPORATION TO HEAR.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT SEEKING ANY FINAL DECISION OR WE WON, WILL NOT BE TAKING A VOTE TODAY, BUT I DO WANNA GET YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANNING THE NEXT STEPS.
SO I'M GONNA OPEN THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION AND I'D LIKE TO START WITH DR. STOUT TO KIND OF TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIS USE AND THE CORPORATION'S USE OF THE TAG, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE EVERYONE A LITTLE CONTEXT AS TO HOW WE'VE USED THE TAG IN THE PAST.
SO, YEAH, I ACTUALLY, IN THE LAST, TRYING TO THINK ABOUT FIVE YEARS, 'CAUSE I THINK IT WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO THAT WE HAD INVITED THE TAG HERE.
WE HAD A MEETING OF THE TAG HERE AND, AND I THINK IT WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE LAST TIME THAT TAG MEMBERS HAD MUCH INTERACTION WITH THE BOARD ITSELF.
BUT IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE REGULARLY HAVE REACHED OUT TO TAG MEMBERS.
UM, PROBABLY CLIFF SPIEGELMAN WAS ONE THAT I'VE WORKED WITH A LOT ON STATISTICAL, BASICALLY CONSULTING.
UM, AND THEN, UH, MONDAY I'VE GOT A MEETING WITH DARRELL, UH, TO TALK ABOUT POTENTIAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, MAYBE WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE THE PIPELINE OF AVAILABLE PERSONNEL, UH, AND A COLLABORATION WITH PRAIRIE VIEW.
UM, SO THERE ARE TAG MEMBERS THAT I HAVE REGULARLY TALKED WITH.
UH, AND I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE AND TALKING A LITTLE BIT WITH THE SENIOR TEAM, THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT THE TAG THAT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF WE COULD HAVE IN THERE REPLACING CLIFF, UH, WITH SOME KIND OF STATISTICAL HELP WOULD BE VERY
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VALUABLE TO US.UM, IT'S A PLACE WE DO SO MUCH WITH DATA, DATA EVALUATION RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE GOT SOME PRETTY SAVVY STATISTICAL EXPERTISE WITHIN THE STAFF, BUT HAVING A LARGER PICTURE OF STATISTICAL INPUT OR WHEN WE'VE GOT A MORE ADVANCED QUESTION, HAVING SOMEPLACE TO GO WITH THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, AND ANOTHER IS, AND WE, WE'VE, WE'VE EXPERIMENTED WITH THIS.
I'M NOT SURE WE'VE FOUND QUITE THE RIGHT PERSON BEFORE.
PROBABLY THE SIMPLEST WAY TO PUT IT IS LIKE IT CONSULTING IN GENERAL.
I, I, I THINK THE PERSON WOULD BE SOMEBODY THAT HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF A VARIETY OF ASPECTS OF IT FROM NETWORKING TO SOFTWARE SYSTEMS. IT'S KIND OF A UNICORN OF A PERSON WOULD BE THE IDEAL ONE, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME VERY SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE IN FORENSICS THAT I KNOW THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH, BUT WE ARE.
SO IT DEPENDENT, EVERYTHING WE DO HAS A COMPUTER ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
NETWORKING SOFTWARE, ALL OF THESE THINGS MORE HELP IN BEING ABLE TO BALANCE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO INTERNALLY.
WHAT IS IT THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING OF OTHER RESOURCES TO BRING IN OUR IT SOLUTIONS.
WE CAN'T DO EVERYTHING OURSELVES.
IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE SOME MIXTURE OF OUTSIDE HELP AND INTERNAL AND HELP IN UNDERSTANDING THAT WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE TO US.
UM, SOME OF THE, WE'VE, SOME OF THE SPECIALTIES WE'VE HAD ARE STATISTICIANS.
WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD, UM, EXPERTS ON WI, UM, STATISTICIANS, UM, CHEMISTRY MM-HMM
LATENT PRINTS, UM, FOR FORENSIC BIOLOGY.
UH, WE HAD TRACE, UM, JOHN TINI.
WE HAD FIRE SCENE INVESTIGATION PERSON.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND THAT THERE'S ONE THAT HAS PROBABLY CHANGED BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT AND WE HAD STOOD UP, UH, IGNITABLE FLUIDS ANALYSIS AND RETIRED THAT BECAUSE THERE JUST WAS NEVER ANY DESIRE TO ACTUALLY HAVE THAT DONE.
UM, TRACE AND TRACE ANALYSIS IS PROBABLY NOT REALLY THERE, BUT THERE IS AN OVERLAY WITH CRIME SCENE THAT YOU CAN'T COMPLETELY IGNORE.
UM, I, I THINK AS THE ORGANIZATION HAS MATURED, I LOOK AT IT THAT THE TAG IN MY MIND IS MORE HELPFUL TO US IN A LOT OF THINGS OUTSIDE OF THE VERY STRICT SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME REALLY ENGAGED STAFF.
THEY ARE INVOLVED IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS QUITE HEAVILY.
THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERTISE, THEY HAVE A LOT OF NETWORKING THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO EXPERTISE OUT THERE.
UM, IT'S SOME OF THE SUPPORT ASPECTS THAT I THINK AS WE'VE MATURED AS AN ORGANIZATION THAT MAY BE MORE VALUABLE TO US.
UH, NOW VERSE WHEN, WHEN THE ORGANIZATION STARTED.
'CAUSE I THINK WHEN THE ORGANIZATION WAS STARTED AND WAS MIGRATING FROM H UH, HPD OVER TO THE CURRENT STRUCTURE, THAT THE TAG WAS USED A LOT FOR THE BOARD TO HELP ADVISE ON BUILDING THOSE STRUCTURES AND THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SINCE WE HAVE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE NOW PRETTY WELL ESTABLISHED, IT'S, YOU KNOW, TO ME IT'S NOW WHERE DO WE TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL? YOU KNOW, HOW ELSE WHO ELSE CAN WE TAP WITH THEIR EXPERTISE THEN TO HELP US CONTINUE THE IMPROVEMENT PROCESS AND THEN TAKING WHAT WE DO, I GUESS, TO THAT NEXT LEVEL.
I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT I SEE MORE NOW IS OUR STAFF.
I MEAN, SINCE ERICA'S OUT HERE, I'LL USE HER AS AN EXAMPLE.
I MEAN, ERICA IS SOMEBODY THAT NOW WE SEE NATIONALLY, PEOPLE LOOK TO HER FOR THEIR QUESTIONS ABOUT QUALITY SYSTEMS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
UM, YOU KNOW, SHE'S ORGANIZED STATE QUALITY MANAGERS ALL ACROSS THE STATE.
I MEAN, SHE, SHE IS THE EXPERT.
UM, AND WE SEE THAT IN MULTIPLE PLACES NOW.
SO FOR MY AWARENESS, UM, WITH RESPECT TO TAG, DO THEY USUALLY HAVE A, A DISTINCT MANDATE? OR IS IT OFTEN SORT OF BESPOKE CAPACITY SORT OF PROJECT QUESTIONS THAT THEY'RE REACHED OUT FOR A LITTLE MORE? THE, THE, THE LATTER.
UH, NOW MY UNDERSTANDING WITH THE TAG IS
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YES, IT IS A NON COMPENSATED CIRCUMSTANCE.HOWEVER, WE HAVE THE LATITUDE TO COMPENSATE THEM IF IT, YOU KNOW, EXTENDS OUT INTO SOMETHING LARGER.
AND I, I COULD SEE THAT SAY LIKE WITH IT, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE UNIQUE NATURE THERE IS, IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE SOMEBODY THAT UNDERSTANDS THE SIZE OF OUR BUDGET COMPARED TO THE WORLD OF IT'S BUDGET.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD ACTUALLY CONTRACT SOMEBODY IN THAT CAPACITY TO HAVE THEM COME HELP CONSULT WITH PROJECTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT'S ALSO A LITTLE CHALLENGING ON THAT IT FRONT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT.
THE, THE WORLD OF OUR LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IS SO SMALL.
THERE'S REALLY FOUR DEVELOPERS.
ALL OF THEM ARE VERY SMALL COMPANIES.
UM, DAVID EPSTEIN, WHO IS A PRINCIPAL IN JUSTICE TRACKS, WAS ON THE TAG AND HE STEPPED OFF THE TAG BECAUSE HE KNEW WE WERE STARTING IN ON, AND THIS IS GOING BACK QUITE A FEW YEARS NOW, STARTING IN ON, UM, UH, UH, PROCUREMENT FOR A NEW LIMBS.
AND KNOWING THAT
WHILE IT WOULD BE MARVELOUS TO HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE WITH SPECIFIC LIMBS ISSUES, I DON'T SEE HOW WE COULD HAVE SOMEBODY FROM ONE OF THE LIMBS MANUFACTURERS WITHOUT THE POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST THERE.
'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S SUCH A SMALL WORLD.
ANY THOUGHTS? ARE THERE ANY OTHER THAT YOU CAN THINK OF THAT MIGHT BE OF BENEFIT TO US THAT WE CAN TAP? I CAN THINK OF NAMES THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND AROUND STATISTICIANS.
UM, I THINK I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP OF THOUGHTS FOR PEOPLE.
MY IDEAL WOULD BE SOMEBODY WHO IS LOCAL HERE TO HOUSTON, UNDERSTANDS THE IT MARKET HERE IN HOUSTON, UM, THAT WOULD BE WILLING TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY.
I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHO THAT PERSON IS.
I, I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN SOME HELP WITH NAMES ON THAT.
YEAH, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE HAD THE TAG ACTUALLY HERE AT ONE POINT.
I DO RECALL A WHILE BACK, WE DID HAVE ALL THE TAG MEMBERS THAT WERE HERE FOR A MEETING AFTER THE BOARD MEETING.
AND THERE WERE, THE BOARD HAD PUT TOGETHER SOME QUESTIONS AND, AND UM, AND THEN THE MEMBERS JUST KIND OF PRESENTED A LITTLE BIT UPON THEIR SPECIALTY.
AND THEN WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON.
AND THEN THE BOARD WAS ABLE TO ASK THEIR QUESTIONS.
BUT I THINK AS WE HAVE BEEN SO DIVING DEEP INTO, YOU KNOW, THE, DOING THE WORK AND DOING THE THING, THE TAG, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, YES, WE'VE REACHED OUT AND TALKED WITH THEM HERE AND THERE AND DR. STOUT HAS, BUT HAVE WE UTILIZED THEM TO THE BEST OF WHAT THE BOARD CAN DO? IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN DO? IS THERE ANOTHER WAY TO UTILIZE THEM? UM, OR, OR, I MEAN, I JUST WANNA KINDA GET EVERYBODY'S THOUGHTS AND SEE WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE.
IF YOU WANNA PONDER, WE CAN CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION AT ANOTHER BOARD MEETING.
IT'S A VERY BRIEF PARAGRAPH ABOUT SORT OF THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF HAVING AN ADVISORY GROUP WHO CAN BE APPOINTED BY THE BOARD.
HOWEVER, UM, IN 2012 AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY IN 2015, THE BOARD AT THE TIME PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT ACTUALLY SPELLED OUT THE DETAILS OF THE QUALIFICATIONS, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT WHAT SUBJECT MATTER SHOULD BE SHOULD BE COVERED.
UM, SO IT'S NOT LENGTHY, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL, UM, IN THIS RESOLUTION
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ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO BE APPOINTING FORENSIC SCIENTISTS OR SCIENTISTS IN GENERALLY WHO ARE OF A CERTAIN, UM, LEVEL OF STANDING, BE IT WITH PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS OR, UM, ADVANCED DEGREES.THERE'S INFORMATION ABOUT APPOINTING, UM, TECHNICAL MEMBERS AS WELL.
UM, SO ALL OF THOSE DETAILS ARE SPELLED OUT.
THE RESOLUTION IS ACTUALLY 2015 DASH 0 0 3, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
UM, SO WHAT I, I CAN DO TO BE OF SERVICE IS PERHAPS IN THE INTERIM I CAN RESEND THE RESOLUTION FOR THE BOARD.
UM, AS YOU ALL ARE THINKING ABOUT POTENTIAL AREAS OR EVEN SPECIFIC NAMES, YOU CAN HAVE THOSE GUIDELINES IN FRONT OF YOU.
I'LL ALSO SAY THAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING WITHIN THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU FIND TO BE TOO RESTRICTIVE OR JUST DOES NOT SERVE THE BOARD ANY LONGER, UM, THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN PASS ALONG BECAUSE IT'S A BOARD RESOLUTION, WHICH MEANS THIS BOARD CAN REVISE IT IN SOME WAY.
SO THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION IS VERY BROAD AND WILL ALLOW YOU ALL TO AMEND AND CHANGE IT TO BE WHAT YOU THINK IT SHOULD BE, UH, IF APPROPRIATE.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE TO GIVE US THAT BACKGROUND TO, TO BE ABLE TO SEE, UH, WHAT WAS REQUIRED, WHAT DOES ALL THAT LOOK LIKE.
AND THEN, UM, UH, WE COULD PROBABLY COME BACK, UH, AND HAVE A, A MORE LENGTHY DISCUSSION.
BUT I THINK THAT BACKGROUND INFORMATION WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SEE WHAT WAS THE EXPECTATION BACK IN 2015.
I MEAN, WE'RE SEVEN YEARS LATER, THERE MAY NEED TO BE SOME CHANGES MADE.
AND I THINK IT GIVES US A GOOD, A LITTLE BIT BETTER FOUNDATION TO BUILD ON IN TERMS OF HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
'CAUSE UH, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE DEFINITELY ADVANTAGEOUS, ADVANTAGEOUS, UH, FOR US.
UM, UH, SO, UH, I'M IN, I'M IN SUPPORT OF IT, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT IT AND KIND OF WHERE ARE WE NOW AND THEN WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE? SO, OKAY, THAT SOUNDS GOOD.
SO WE'LL GET THE, DO YOU WANNA SEE BOTH? WHY DON'T WE JUST SEND OUT BOTH RESOLUTIONS, THE ONE FROM 2012 AND THEN, BECAUSE THAT LISTED OUT LIKE SOME OF THE ORIGINAL FOLKS ALONG WITH JUST THE SHORT SENTENCE THAT SAYS THEY NEED TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEST, YOU KNOW, UM, HIGH REGARD IN FORENSIC SCIENCE AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND THEN WE CAN SEND OUT THE 20 15 1 TOO.
I ONLY HAD PAGE ONE THAT'S ALL THAT PRINTED FOR ME, BUT OKAY.
UM, SO IT'S, I'M LIKE, WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE STUFF HERE? AND IT'S LIKE, IT'S PAGE ONE.
UM, THERE'S ALSO ON THE WEBSITE TOO, IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, THERE IS A LISTING OF THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE TAG, UM, WITH THEIR BIOS AND IT'S UNDER THE STANDBY, I'LL TELL YOU TAB, UM, THE ABOUT TAB AND THEN IT SAYS TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP.
SO IF YOU WANNA GO LOOK THERE AS WELL.
AND THEN WE'LL BE UPDATING THAT WITH THE WEBSITE TOO, BECAUSE WE HAD SEVERAL MEMBERS THAT SAID THAT THEY, UM, OH, YOU, YOU, YOU'VE UPDATED.
OKAY, SO IT IS UPDATE, IT'S ALL CURRENT.
ALRIGHT, SO THAT BEING SAID, SO WE'LL GET THAT DONE AND WE'LL HAVE THE, UM, HAVE THAT SENT OUT SO EVERYBODY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
AND THEN WE WILL PUT THIS BACK ON THE AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER FOR MAYBE A BRIEF CONVERSATION AND KIND OF SEE WHERE WE WANNA GO WITH THAT OR ANOTHER DISCUSSION ON IT.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS THE REPORT FROM DR. PETER STOUT, OUR CEO AND PRESIDENT WHO WILL TALK ABOUT TECHNICAL OPERATIONS UPDATES, STAFFING AN UPDATE FROM THE AUGUST STAKEHOLDERS MEETING REGARDING, UH, REQUESTS FOR PRIORITIZATION AND CASE ACCEPTANCE POLICIES.
ALRIGHT, AM I CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE MICROPHONE? OKAY.
SO JUST BRIEFLY A FEW OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS.
CSU HAS BEEN WORKING AT THEIR BACKLOG OF REPORTS AND ACTUALLY OUT OF THE VEB, THEY CLEARED OUT ABOUT 170 REPORTS.
UM, SO THEY'VE BEEN MAKING SOME GOOD PROGRESS THERE.
UH, TOXICOLOGY OUTSOURCING, THAT'S WHERE, WHERE WE'VE GOT SOME OF THE ARPA MONEY FOR TOXICOLOGY OUTSOURCING.
UH, WE ARE SHIPPING OUT 50 SAMPLES A WEEK.
UH, THIS IS ALSO PART OF OUR DISCUSSION WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS OF HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THOSE 50 SLOTS A WEEK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT THE RIGHT THINGS.
WE HAVE SEEN A PRETTY SHARP DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF REQUESTS COMING INTO MULTIMEDIA.
UM, I KNOW HPD HAS GOTTEN LICENSES FOR CELLEBRITE.
SO THERE IS AN ACTIVE DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW WITH HPD ABOUT HOW WE DISTRIBUTE WORK BETWEEN US.
UM, SO WE DON'T TRIP EACH OTHER UP, GET THE RIGHT THINGS GOING THE RIGHT PLACES.
I KNOW THERE IS AN OLD HPD CIRCULAR THAT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AND WE'RE ACTIVELY TALKING WITH
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THEM ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT.I THINK AMY'S GONNA GET, UH, ONE OF OUR LEAN SIX SIGMA ENGINEERS TO DO A PROJECT IN THIS AREA BECAUSE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING EFFICIENT HERE.
UM, I DON'T EXPECT AND NEVER PRETEND WHEN WE SEE A BREAK FROM THE NUMBER OF CASES COMING IN THAT THAT'S GONNA LAST, BUT WE'LL ENJOY IT WHILE WE CAN TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO
UM, AND THEN ERIC HAS GOT WITHIN HER REPORT, OUR A NA ASSESSMENT COMPLETED ON AUGUST 11TH.
UH, SO I'LL LET HER UPDATE THAT STUFF, BUT THAT IS AN ENORMOUS TASK FOR US OF THOSE RE-ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENTS WHEN WE HAVE 'EM.
AND JUST THERE ON THE STAFFING SIDE SO THAT KEEP Y'ALL AWARE WHAT WE'VE GOT IN SEIZES DRUGS IN PARTICULAR WITH TURNOVER THERE.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A GRAND TOTAL OF FOUR ANALYSTS THAT ARE DOING SEIZE DRUG ANALYSES RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE HAVE, I THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE ALL OF THE POSITIONS FILLED.
THEY JUST ARE NEW PEOPLE THAT NOW ARE ON THAT TRAINING ARC, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT OF, A LOT OF TIMES OF HOW LONG THAT TRAINING ARC IS.
BUT YEAH, FOR ANALYSTS MEANS BACKLOG AND SEIZES DRUGS IS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND THIS IS ALSO PART OF OUR DISCUSSION ABOUT PRIORITY, MY PRIORITIES AND HOW WE HANDLE THINGS.
ANY QUESTIONS ON OPERATIONAL STUFF? ALRIGHT, SO FROM LAST MEETING, JUST A QUICK REPRISE 'CAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT PRIORITIES AND HOW WE'RE MANAGING CASES 'CAUSE IT'S CLEARLY AN ISSUE THESE DAYS.
SO REMEMBER THIS IS THIS INTERACTION OF WHAT OUR FUNDING IS, WHAT OUR TIMING IS, WHAT THE PERSONNEL ARE, WHAT OUR CAPACITY IS, AND HOW DO WE MANAGE ALL OF THIS? 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT WHAT WE'VE GOT.
UM, I'VE, I'VE SAID THIS IN MANY MULTIPLE VENUES.
EVEN IF THE MAGICAL MONEY BUS BACKED OVER US THIS AFTERNOON AND WE HAD LIMITLESS FUNDING, WE STILL HAVE A PROBLEM FOR THE NEXT ONE TO TWO YEARS BECAUSE WE CAN FIND PEOPLE, BUT IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO TRAIN THEM AND GET THEM IN PLACE.
SO YES, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION ABOUT RESOURCES BECAUSE OF THIS LONG ARC TO GET PEOPLE IN PLACE.
BUT SIMPLY THROWING MONEY AT THINGS RIGHT NOW STILL DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM TOMORROW.
BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FINDING PEOPLE, DO WE GO OUT AND RECRUIT ACROSS THE COUNTRY? YES, WE DO.
UM, ARE THEY TRAINED ALONG THE SAME LINES AS OUR PEOPLE SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE TRAINED? IT IS SHORTER.
THIS, THIS IS AS, AS I I I KEEP TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO GET PEOPLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND.
'CAUSE IT, IT IS A COMPLICATED THING.
A TRAINED EXPERIENCED ANALYST IS SHORTER TO GET IN PLACE HERE.
BUT EVERY JURISDICTION IS DIFFERENT IN THE UNITED STATES, EVEN ACROSS TEXAS, WE HAVE EFFECTIVELY 254 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS BECAUSE EVERY COUNTY IS DIFFERENT.
AND AN EXPERIENCED PERSON IN ONE PLACE STILL IS PROBABLY SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR BEFORE THEY'RE FUNCTIONAL IN A NEW JURISDICTION BECAUSE THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT IN THAT JURISDICTION.
UM, AND WHILE TESTIMONY IS RARE, WE REALLY ONLY TESTIFY IN ABOUT 3% OF WHAT WE PROCESS.
THE RISK OF TESTIMONY IS GREAT ENOUGH AND THE DEMAND IN TESTIMONY IS GREAT ENOUGH.
THAT'S, THAT DRIVES A LOT OF THIS.
GETTING PEOPLE COMFORTABLE WITH ALL OF THE NUANCE IN THIS JURISDICTION, EVEN IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCED, TAKES A LOT OF TIME.
UM, SO I'VE GOT MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS AND LIKE I SAY, EVEN MONDAY I'M GONNA TALK WITH DARRELL ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE WITH PRAIRIE VIEW.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE MORE WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO FIND OUR NEW GRADS, WHICH ARE GREAT.
THERE'S MORE OF THEM, BUT IT'S AN EVEN LONGER ARC.
GETTING A NEW GRAD TO A PLACE WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE RIGORS OF POTENTIAL TESTIMONY.
AND WE NEED PIPELINES THAT IS A POST BACHELOR'S OR EVEN A POST MASTER'S PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE THAT IS VERY PRACTICALLY ORIENTED DEALS WITH ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT THEY DON'T GET IN THE DIDACTIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM.
BUT WE STILL NEED THEM TO HAVE IT'S, YOU KNOW, THOSE MECHANICS AT THE BENCH.
IT'S A LOT OF PRACTICE STUFF AND IT'S A LOT OF PRACTICE IN TESTIMONY.
[00:30:01]
IS KIND OF AN IDEAL.IT WILL SHORTEN THAT TIMELINE, BUT IT MAY SHORTEN IT FROM THREE YEARS TO A YEAR AND A HALF.
IT MAY SHORTEN IT FROM A YEAR TO SIX TO NINE MONTHS.
UM, WE STILL HAVE THINGS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IN THE LABORATORY 'CAUSE THERE'S JUST NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WHAT'S IN THAT JURISDICTION.
I I KEEP TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO EXPLAIN IT.
'CAUSE IT IS A CRUX OF HOW THE, THE QUESTION HAS BEEN PUT TO ME MULTIPLE TIMES BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF, IF I CAN'T GIVE YOU MONEY NOW AND YOU CAN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW, WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU MONEY NOW? WELL, I APPRECIATE WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM WITH THAT.
I MEAN, I, I GET IT, BUT NO, I, I CAN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING DOWN TO A PLACE WHERE THE PROBLEM IS PEOPLE AND PEOPLE TAKE TIME TO GET IN PLACE.
BUT IF I DON'T START WITH THE PEOPLE NOW, I'M STILL GONNA HAVE THAT PROBLEM A YEAR FROM NOW.
ONLY IT'S GONNA BE WORSE WHEN THEY'RE IN THEIR, UM, GRADUATE PROGRAMS OR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS. HOW MUCH ACTUAL HANDS-ON BENCH WORK DO THEY GET TO PLAY WITH? OR IS IT ALL THEORY AND THEORETICAL? A LOT OF IT IS THEORY AND THEORETICAL.
AND THIS IS, IT IS ONE OF THE REAL DIFFICULTIES FOR FORENSICS BECAUSE FORENSIC SCIENCE PROGRAMS ARE GIVING PEOPLE EXPERIENCE ACROSS ALL OF THE VARIOUS DISCIPLINES, WHICH IS HELPFUL FROM A THEORETICAL STANDPOINT, BUT PROBLEMATIC.
WHEN I'M TRYING TO TAKE A FORENSIC SCIENCE GRADUATE AND NOW PLUG THEM INTO CASEWORK IN FORENSIC BIOLOGY OR SEIZE DRUGS, PEOPLE SPEND LIFETIMES GAINING SUFFICIENT EXPERIENCE TO BE TRULY PROFICIENT IN ONE OF THESE DISCIPLINES.
SO A NEW GRAD FROM A FORENSIC SCIENCE PROGRAM IS A JACK OF ALL TRADES AND A MASTER OF NONE.
I NEED A MASTER OF ONE AND I NEED THEM TO HAVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF FORENSIC SCIENCES.
SO IT IS A LONG ARC TO TRAIN SOMEBODY TO BE TRULY EFFECTIVE.
AND THIS IS, I MEAN, IT, IT IS A REAL ISSUE.
UM, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT MOVE BETWEEN LABORATORIES.
UH, IT IS A CONCERN THAT I'VE GOT FOR US EVEN NEAR TERM IS THAT WE ARE, WE, WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO BE AT THE UPPER END OF PAY SCALES AROUND THE STATE.
THE REST OF THE STATE HAS CAUGHT UP TO US.
WE ARE NO LONGER AS COMPETITIVE AS WE WERE.
THAT IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM.
IT ALREADY IS A PROBLEM FOR US, BUT EVEN THERE, WE END UP COMPETING AND LOSING PEOPLE OUT TO OTHER INDUSTRIES.
AND NO, I I, I CAN'T COMPETE WITH OIL AND GAS.
WE'RE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH THOSE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT STEP OUT TO THOSE.
AND HONESTLY, TO A DEGREE THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE THIS WORK IS HARD ON PEOPLE AND NOT EVERYBODY CAN WITHSTAND AN ENTIRE CAREER OF THIS KIND OF STRESS AND STRAIN.
SO THERE ARE GOING TO PEOPLE, I, I KNOW WE'VE HAD A FEW HERE JUST RECENTLY THAT WE'VE LOST OUT TO BIOTECH AND OIL AND GAS.
AND AS THEY'VE LEFT, THAT HAS BEEN THEIR COMMENT OF, I JUST, I JUST CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE.
DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE VOLUME OF THE CASE WORK AND THEN THE TESTIMONY PIECE AND THE PREPARATION OR, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S ALL OF THAT PIECE.
AND WE, WE SEE A LOT OF IT IN THAT KIND OF THREE TO FIVE YEAR RANGE PEOPLE.
WE, WE HAD ONE IN CSU THAT, YOU KNOW, HE, HE WAS PRETTY FORTHRIGHT THAT HE JUST CAN'T STEP OVER ANOTHER BODY.
AND I, I, I RESPECT THE ONES THAT START TO UNDERSTAND THAT IN THEMSELVES.
AND I MEAN, I HATE TO LOSE 'EM.
I WISH WE COULD DO MORE, BUT SOME OF THEM JUST, IT FRIES 'EM.
WE DO HAVE THE STRESS DEBRIEFING AND WE DO HAVE THOSE THINGS AVAILABLE TOO FOR THEM.
SO IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE LEADING THEM, I MEAN, WITHOUT RESOURCES MEAN WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD IN AS MANY TOOLS AS WE CAN.
AND YES, IT, IT IS PART OF HOW WE WOULD MANAGE THIS, SAY LIKE, AND CSU IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE HOW HP HPDS HOMICIDE MANAGES THIS.
YOU'VE GOT AN INVESTIGATOR THAT IS IN ROTATION, THEY CATCH A SCENE, THEN THEY'RE OUT OF ROTATION FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, AND EVEN THERE, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO REALLY MANAGE IT THE WAY THEY WOULD LIKE TO.
BUT OUR FOLKS, BASICALLY EVERY WEEK THEY COME IN, ON AVERAGE THEY CATCH A SCENE EVERY FOUR DAYS OR LESS.
[00:35:01]
SO OUR FOLKS, THEY DON'T GET A BREAK.WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO GET THEM A BREAK TO HAVE THEM OUT OF THAT ROTATION FOR TWO OR THREE WEEKS TO BE ABLE TO CATCH UP ON OTHER STUFF, BUT ALSO JUST PROCESS THROUGH WHAT THEY HAD TO GO DEAL WITH.
BUT THAT'S, WE ARE A LONG WAY FROM ENOUGH PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO PART OF WHAT WE'RE LEFT WITH IS HOW WE PRIORITIZE, OOPS, THAT'S THE WRONG BUTTON.
PRIORITIZE THINGS IN MANAGE CASELOADS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, I PUT THIS IN MY LAST, UH, UPDATE TO STAKEHOLDERS.
IT IS SOMETHING I WAS, I WAS NOTICING AT THE STAKEHOLDER MEETING, WHICH WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE.
BUT HELPING OUR STAKEHOLDERS UNDERSTAND PRIORITY CONVERSATIONS IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT IS A REAL RISK FOR OUR ANALYSTS BECAUSE THE NATURE OF A PRIORITY REQUEST IS TRYING TO CONVEY A COMPELLING ARGUMENT FOR WHY PUT THIS ONE FIRST AND SOMETHING ELSE SECOND.
AND THE NATURE OF THAT ARGUMENT IS ALMOST ALWAYS SOME KIND OF EMOTIONAL PLEA.
THIS GUY IS A BAD GUY, HE'S OUT THERE LIKELY TO CAUSE MORE HARM.
HE ALREADY HARMED ALL OF THESE PEOPLE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION, THAT IS A PERFECTLY VALID ARGUMENT FOR OUR ANALYSTS WHO ARE CHARGED WITH TRYING TO PRODUCE AN OBJECTIVE ANSWER.
SO PART OF HOW WE NEED TO DEVISE PRIORITY MANAGEMENT IS TO HELP INSULATE OUR ANALYSTS AND SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS FROM INFORMATION THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY BIASING.
UM, AND THIS IS, I I, I'M, I'M PUTTING THIS OUT THERE AND I WILL MAKE IT MORE PART OF OUR DISCUSSIONS BECAUSE AS WE BUILD THESE SYSTEMS, WE WILL NEED THE HELP OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN COMPLYING WITH THESE PROCESSES.
WE SEE REGULARLY, AND I, I GET WHY IT HAPPENS.
I'M, I'M NOT FAULTING ANYBODY FOR WHY THEY DO THIS, BUT IT IS A RISK FOR OUR FOLKS WHEN THEY AGITATE FOR AND FIND THE CELL NUMBERS OF ANALYSTS AND CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY WITH THESE ARGUMENTS.
IT IS A RISK FOR US AND IT'S A RISK FOR THEIR CASE.
SO I NEED HELP FROM THOSE STAKEHOLDERS WHEN WE'VE GOT THESE SYSTEMS BUILT AS WE'RE GETTING THEM THERE COMPLYING WITH USING THEM AND RESISTING THAT URGE TO HUNT DOWN OUR ANALYSTS.
AND YOU KNOW, BY AND LARGE, THEY'RE GENERALLY BENIGN AND IT'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL AND WE CAN MANAGE WITH IT AND WE DEAL WITH IT ALL THE TIME.
OCCASIONALLY IT IS PRETTY INAPPROPRIATE AND WE REALLY NEED TO AVOID THOSE.
SO THAT'S PART OF WHY I'M STARTING TO BUILD THIS MORE INTO THE DISCUSSIONS OR TRYING TO PUSH THIS IN THE DISCUSSIONS, IS I NEED THEM TO COMPLY WITH SYSTEMS. DR.
STO, JUST SO THAT WE'RE ALL AWARE.
CAN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE POTENTIAL BIAS THAT COULD PUT THAT THIS COULD, THAT, THAT, UM, CONTACTING 'EM DIRECTLY MM-HMM
AND REALLY KIND OF PUSHING THEIR CASE FORWARD.
WHAT COULD THAT RESULT IN? JUST SO THAT WE ARE ALL AWARE AND HAVE A REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT.
WELL POSSIBLE THAT, UH, A DEFENSE ATTORNEY, JAY, DID, UH, ANYBODY EXACTLY THE DA'S OFFICE CONTACT YOU? YEAH.
I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE, THE CLASSIC ARGUMENT IS SO, SO ANALYST, DID THE DA'S OFFICE CONTACT YOU? OR WHAT WAS THAT CONVERSATION INVOLVED? AND THAT CONVERSATION INVOLVED, OH, SO THEY TOLD YOU THAT MY CLIENT, THE DEFENDANT WAS ACCUSED OF HAVING SLAUGHTERED 50 PUPPIES AND ORPHANS.
DOES THAT POTENTIALLY BIAS HOW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS? WELL, HOW DOES THAT NOT POTENTIALLY BIAS YOUR THINKING ABOUT THIS? AND YOU WERE GIVEN INFORMATION THEN THAT MY CLIENT IS THE SUSPECT IN THIS.
SO WHEN YOU'RE NOW EVALUATING THE SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF FINGERPRINTS, HOW DOES THAT NOT INFLUENCE YOUR CONCLUSION THAT YOU CAME TO? THAT'S THE KIND OF LINE OF QUESTIONING THAT CAN COME FROM HAVING THAT BIASING INFORMATION.
AND THERE ARE STUDIES OUT THERE THAT INDICATE THAT THERE IS POTENTIAL BIAS IN HAVING THAT INFORMATION UP TO AN INCLUDING, UM, I MEAN THERE'S THE HOT TOPIC ARTICLE THAT'S OUT THERE BY ETAIL DRAWER THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES WHERE HE GAVE, UM, FORENSIC PATHOLOGISTS THE SAME CASE INFORMATION FOR, UH, UH, HOMICIDE OF A CHILD.
AND IN SO THE SAME BASIC CASE FACTS, BUT THE DIFFERENCE WAS IN ONE CASE IT WAS, UH, THE BOYFRIEND OF A GIRL, OF A GIRLFRIEND AND THE GIRLFRIEND WAS THE ONE WHO WAS THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD.
AND IT WAS THE BOYFRIEND THAT HAD CALLED THIS IN THE OTHER, IT WAS, AND THE, THAT WAS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN COUPLE.
THE OTHER WAS A WHITE GRANDMOTHER WHO HAD BEEN WATCHING THE CHILD.
[00:40:01]
AND THE CONCLUSION OUTTA THE PAPER WAS, IS THERE IS A RACIAL BIAS IN THE CONCLUSION FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST.NOW HOW YOU INSULATE THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
AND THERE'S, THERE'S THAT, THAT ONE HAS GOTTEN MORE COMMENTS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THAN ANY OTHER ARTICLE IN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCE HISTORY.
UM, THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND IT, BUT THAT IS THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT'S OUT THERE IN THE STUDIES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
SO TRYING TO INSULATE OUR ANALYSTS OR GIVE A CREDIBLE FIREWALL, THERE IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS.
AND WE'VE HAD CIRCUMSTANCES, PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST ONES THAT STILL GETS MY IRE IS WE HAD AN ANALYST WHO WAS ON VACATION AND AN A DA SOUGHT AND FOUND THE HUSBAND'S CELL PHONE NUMBER TO THEN CALL THE HUSBAND ON VACATION TO THEN COMPLAIN AT THE HUSBAND ABOUT THAT THE ANALYST ACTUALLY NEEDED TO BE ON THE STAND.
THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT EVEN JUST FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, NEED TO STOP.
AND AGAIN, I APPRECIATE, I UNDERSTAND FROM THE ADA'S PERSPECTIVE, THEY ARE ADVOCATING FOR THEIR CASE.
I UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DO IT, BUT IT ENDS THEM UP IN A PLACE THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE.
DOES THAT HELP ANSWER YOUR QUESTION OF WHERE THAT CAN COME FROM? YEAH, SO WE HAD, I THINK ACTUALLY A PRETTY PRODUCTIVE MEETING.
UM, OUR BOARD CHAIR WAS THERE AT THE MEETING.
UH, WE HAD A GOOD TURNOUT FROM THE DA'S OFFICE.
WE HAD A GOOD TURNOUT FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGES.
UH, THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEFENSE BAR WAS THERE, ALEX BUNIN, WHO'S OVER PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE WAS THERE.
SO I THINK WE HAD A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF EVERYBODY THAT WAS THERE.
UM, WE HAD, I THINK IT, IT, IT WAS CLEARLY THEY ARE ALL COMPONENTS OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT HAVE THEIR AGENDAS BY DESIGN.
I THINK EVERYBODY DID A GOOD JOB OF STOWING SOME OF THEIR TENSIONS IN FAVOR OF TRYING TO SEEK SOLUTIONS AT THE MEETING.
WE HAD A FEW TENSE MOMENTS IN IT, BUT THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED.
I THINK WE CAME AWAY WITH SOME ACTIONABLE THINGS AND A LOT IS NOW GOING TO BE HOW WE TRANSITION THAT INTO SUSTAINABLE ACTIONABLE ITEMS. UM, WE DID HAVE A GOOD DISCUSSION AROUND TESTIMONY MANAGEMENT AND AROUND CASE PRIORITIZATION.
UM, COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THERE THAT WE ARE MOVING ALONG WITH, WE HAVE REVISED SOME CASE MANAGEMENT POLICIES.
SO THESE ARE THE THINGS OF WHAT ITEMS WE WILL ACCEPT INITIALLY, UM, HOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA TEST EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEND, YOU NEED TO TELL US WHICH THREE CELL PHONES WE'RE GONNA TEST FIRST.
YOU NEED TO TELL US WHICH 10 LATENT PRINTS WE'RE GONNA TEST FIRST.
IT'S NOT THAT WE WON'T TEST MORE, BUT THAT'S THE FIRST PASS OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA TEST.
WE ARE GONNA LAUNCH SOME ADDITIONAL CASE MANAGEMENT POLICIES.
WE'VE HAD CASE MANAGEMENT POLICIES FOR LATENT PRINTS AND FORENSIC BIOLOGY FOR A WHILE.
WE'VE GOT ONES FOR DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA AND FIREARMS THAT WE'RE INTENDING.
THE INTENT IS TO HAVE THOSE ROLL OUT OCTOBER 1ST.
UM, WE'VE GOT SOME REVISIONS TO THE LATENT PRINT ONE.
SO THOSE, THOSE ARE GONNA GET OUT THERE.
UM, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW WE CONSISTENTLY MANAGE PRIORITY.
SO FROM THAT, WE ALREADY HAVE ON THE CALENDAR WE AGREED A MORE A SUITE OF MORE TACTICAL MEETINGS THAT REALLY THE JUDGES AND DEFENSE ARE CONFLICTED OUT OF IT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY MORE WHICH CASE WE'RE DECIDING TO GO FIRST.
SO WE'LL MEET ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
WE'VE GOT TWO DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
ONE IS MORE MISDEMEANOR ORIENTED BECAUSE THAT IS MORE INVOLVED WITH TOXICOLOGY AND SEES DRUGS AND NOT THE OTHER DISCIPLINES.
AND THEN ONE THAT IS ORIENTED TOWARDS FELONY CASES, WHICH AFFECTS THE REST OF THE DISCIPLINES.
UM, AND EVERYBODY SEEMED PRETTY AGREEABLE TO DOING THAT.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID OF HOW WE GET THAT MEETING TO SYSTEMATICALLY WORK AT THE LIST OF CASES AND MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
UM, I HAVE REACHED OUT AND STARTED TRYING TO GET ON THE CALENDAR ON EVERY OTHER WEEKLY MEETING THAT IS MORE STRATEGIC IN NATURE THAT INCLUDES THE JUDGES AND DEFENSE.
SO THIS IS LESS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CASES AND MORE ABOUT THE FRAMEWORK OF HOW WE DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF CASES GO FIRST.
ARE WE ASKING THE CORRECT QUESTIONS TO GET THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO THEN GO MAKE THOSE INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS FOR THAT OTHER MEETING? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE AFTER IN THAT ONE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE DA'S OFFICE IS NOW LIVE IN THE REQUEST PORTAL.
UM, WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE INEVITABLE COUPLE
[00:45:01]
OF HICCUPS AND TECHNICAL ISSUES AS THAT'S LAUNCHED.I THINK WE CAN GET THOSE THINGS RESOLVED, BUT WHILE IT SEEMS LIKE THAT SHOULD BE A OR OR COULD BE KIND OF A MINOR THING, THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
IT'S TAKEN US SEVERAL YEARS TO GET THEM THERE.
IT'S TAKEN THE DA'S OFFICE GETTING INTO MICROSOFT AZURE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
THAT'S BEEN LONG ARC GETTING THEM THERE.
AND WHAT I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH IS THAT MECHANISM IS HOW WE STEP BACK FROM THE PHONE CALLS AND THE EMAILS AND THOSE PHONE CALLS AND THE EMAILS ARE PRECARIOUSLY EASY TO TRANSITION INTO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL ASPECT OF WHY THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED.
SO SYSTEMATIZES AND HELPS INSULATE THE ENTIRE SYSTEM FROM THOSE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS.
AND THIS ALSO THEN GIVES THE SPRINGBOARD FOR WHERE WE CAN HAVE MECHANISMS THAT THEY REQUEST PRIORITY ANSWER INFORMATION ABOUT WHY THIS SHOULD BE A PRIORITY THAT THEN CAN BE HAD AS A CONVERSATION AWAY FROM MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, ANALYSTS, AND MAKE THOSE AS A DECISION BETWEEN THE STAKEHOLDERS BUT NOT INVOLVE THE ANALYST.
SO IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING THAT WE GET THEM THERE.
UH, BUT THAT ACTUALLY HAS LAUNCHED HERE IN THE, JUST THE LAST FEW DAYS.
SO THAT'S KINDA MY PRIORITY STUFF.
ANYTHING ELSE I CAN UPDATE YOU ON, ON WHERE WE'RE AT PRIORITY WISE? AT THIS POINT? I DON'T SEE A NEED FOR THE BOARD TO WEIGH IN ON SOMETHING, BUT STAY TUNED.
IF I NEED, WE MAY TALK ABOUT THAT IN NOVEMBER.
I'M, I'M CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC THAT EVERYBODY IS ENGAGED AND INVOLVED.
WE'LL SEE IF IT STAYS THAT WAY.
YEAH, I FELT THE MEETING WAS A VERY GOOD MEETING AND I FELT EVERYONE WAS VERY ENGAGED YEAH.
IN THE DISCUSSION AND COMMITTED TO CONTINUING THE DISCUSSIONS AND LOOKING FOR RESOLUTIONS.
UH, UH, LIKE I SAY, I'M CAUTIOUS, BUT I WAS PLEASED.
ALRIGHT, SO DIFFERENT TOPIC HERE, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF WE, LITTLE BIT OF BACKSTORY ON THIS.
IN 2017, WE APPLIED TO THE PAUL COVERDALE PROGRAM.
UM, AND YOU'VE HEARD MY RANTS ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR FORENSIC SCIENCES AND THE VERY, VERY, VERY SMALL SUITE OF POSSIBILITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, BUT PAUL COVERDALE IS ONE THAT IS OUT OF REACH FOR US AND IT IS OUT OF REACH FOR US BECAUSE OF SOME LANGUAGE IN OUR CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION IN ARTICLE 13 TO BE SPECIFIC.
AND IN ARTICLE 13, IT HAS THE LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT SAYS WE ARE NOT AN ELEMENT OF STATE.
THE CONTEXT BEING THAT HFSC CAN'T GO BUY A MILLION DOLLARS IN BITCOIN AND OBLIGATE THE CITY TO A DEBT WITHOUT THE CITY'S INVOLVEMENT, WHICH MAKES SENSE.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAS INTERPRETED THAT THOUGH TO MEAN THAT WE DON'T MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PAUL COVERDALE PROGRAM.
SO WE GOT A LETTER BACK IN 2017 SAYING WE WEREN'T ELIGIBLE.
NOW WE HAVEN'T REALLY PICKED THAT FIGHT BECAUSE PAUL COVERDALES, UH, FORMULA GRANT DOLLAR FIGURE FOR US IS MAYBE ABOUT $10,000 A YEAR.
IT JUST HASN'T BEEN WORTH, IT JUST HADN'T BEEN WORTH THE FIGHT.
WHAT WE HAVE SEEN HERE MORE RECENTLY IS WITH THE SWITCH OF FUNDING THAT IS UNDER THE DEBBIE SMITH ACT, WHICH IS THE CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT, BACKLOG REDUCTION OR CBER FUNDING, WHICH IS A VERY REAL DOLLAR FIGURE TO US.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION A ABOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR US AND ACTUALLY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS BECAUSE WE'RE BOTH NOT TYPICAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.
UM, WHAT THIS HAS MEANT THEN IS A CONVERSATION WITH CITY LEGAL ABOUT WHAT IS OUR LATITUDE TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THAT LANGUAGE.
WE'VE ALSO RUN INTO PROBLEMS WITH THIS LANGUAGE, WITH THE FAA AND OUR DRONE PROGRAM.
UM, SO IT IS, IT WILL, IT WILL BE USEFUL TO US TO CHANGE THIS LANGUAGE IF WE CAN.
UM, I THINK IN CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, SENATOR CORNYN'S OFFICE AND ALSO WITH SOME OF THE LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION FOR FORENSIC LABORATORIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, THE POSSIBILITY OF US NOT QUALIFYING FOR SIEBER FUNDING WITH THAT LANGUAGE STILL IN THERE, I THINK THAT'S RESOLVING, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO BE IN A MORE SECURE SITUATION WITH THIS.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME WORK YET TO DO WITH CITY LEGAL AND CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE ABOUT WHAT THIS WOULD LOOK LIKE, BUT PROBABLY THERE WILL BE
[00:50:01]
SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE IF WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THAT LANGUAGE THAT THEN HAS TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE CHANGE IN THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION.BUT I THINK I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP OF WHY THIS IS AND WHAT WE MAY COME BACK TO WITH YOU.
THE GOOD NEWS IS FOR THIS FUNDING CYCLE, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
IT MAY BE AN ISSUE FOR THE NEXT FUNDING CYCLE.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO BE IN A PLACE TO QUALIFY FOR PAUL COVERDALE IN THE NEXT FUNDING CYCLE.
UM, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE GOTTA DO RIGHT NOW.
WE CAN TAKE A THOUGHTFUL AND CONSIDERED APPROACH TO HOW WE CHANGE THIS LANGUAGE.
IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER FOR YOU ABOUT THIS? IT'S THE NEXT FUNDING CYCLE.
WHEN DOES THAT SHOW? USUALLY THE SOLICITATIONS DROP IN ABOUT JANUARY.
UM, IT SEEMS TO VARY EVERY YEAR.
THERE'S STILL CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH THIS BECAUSE THESE THINGS MOVED OVER TO BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE FROM NIJ.
UH, SO THAT'S CHANGED SOME OF THE TIMING CYCLES.
THINGS HAVE BEEN AS LATE AS APRIL OR AS EARLY AS JANUARY.
DO YOU THINK WITH THE WAY THE DISCUSSIONS ARE GOING, THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO VOTE ON IN THE FIRST OF THE YEAR? OR ARE WE LOOKING FURTHER? I I DON'T KNOW ANY THOUGHTS.
I KNOW THAT'S UNPREDICTABLE AND YOU CAN'T GUARANTEE YOU IT'S UNPREDICTABLE.
I THINK WE, WE MAY BE IN A POSITION THAT EVEN AT THE NOVEMBER BOARD MEETING, WE MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING FOR OUR BOARD TO CONSIDER, UM, WHICH WOULD THEN PUT IT INTO PLACE FOR CITY COUNCIL TO DEAL WITH IT AROUND THE FIRST OF THE YEAR.
UM, THAT MIGHT BE A POSSIBILITY.
COULD YOU GIVE A BALLPARK RANGE WITH RESPECT TO WHAT THESE GRANTS LOOK LIKE? LIKE TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING? UH, OKAY, SO CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT SUBMIT BACKLOG REDUCTION.
WE GOT 2.4 MILLION OUT OF THAT GRANT THIS CYCLE.
IT'S A REAL DOLLAR FIGURE FOR US.
SO, SO UNDER DEBBIE SMITH ACT THERE IS ABOUT A HUNDRED AND I THINK THE APPROPRIATION FOR DEBBIE SMITH, THIS LAST FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR WAS 168 MILLION NATIONALLY.
UM, AND YOU'VE HEARD MY RANTS ABOUT HOW PATHETICALLY SMALL THAT IS.
UH, PAUL COVERDALE IS ABOUT 30 MILLION NATIONALLY.
SO THE, LIKE I SAY, THE, THE FORMULA SIDE OF IT IS ABOUT 10 TO $15,000 A YEAR FOR US.
BETTER THAN A SHARP STICK IN THE EYE.
I WOULDN'T MIND HAVING 10 OR $15,000, BUT IT'S ALSO ONLY 10 OR 15,000.
ON THE FORMULA SIDE, THERE IS A COMPETITIVE SIDE TO IT THAT COULD BE 200 TO $500,000.
SO, YOU KNOW, MORE SUBSTANTIVE COMPONENT.
NOW ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT PAUL COVERDALE THAT IS VERY ATTRACTIVE, PAUL COVERDALE IS PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY FUNDING MECHANISM FOR MONEY THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR DISCIPLINES OTHER THAN DNA.
UM, AND ACTUALLY PART OF THIS IS WHAT BROUGHT THIS UP.
ONE OF THE MULTIMEDIA FOLKS CAME TO ME AND WAS ASKING ME ABOUT DPS RECENTLY HAS SOME PAUL COVERDALE MONEY THAT THEY'RE USING IN MULTIMEDIA IN DPS.
AND THEY WERE ASKING ME, HOW ARE THEY DOING THAT? WELL, IT'S PAUL COVERDALE MONEY.
THAT'S WHY IT CAN BE USED IN MULTIMEDIA.
IT'S ALSO PAUL COVERDALE MONEY AND WHY WE CAN'T RIGHT NOW DO THAT.
UM, SO YEAH, I'M HONESTLY, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT WE APPLIED FOR BACK IN 2017.
I THINK IT WAS FIREARMS WAS WHAT WE WERE THINKING OF.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? ALRIGHT, SO LAST PART I HAVE IS OUR COMPANY GOALS FOR THIS NEXT EVALUATION CYCLE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE OPERATIONS REPORT BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT ITEM? OKAY.
UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS THE CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF DR.
STOUT'S PROPOSED LIST OF ANNUAL CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND GOALS AND POSSIBLE RELATED ACTIONS.
SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A VO VOICE VOTE FOR US.
UM, IF YOU RECALL, WE ARE AT THE STAGE IN THE ANNUAL BOARD MEETING SCHEDULE WHERE WE LOOK AT THE COMPANY'S PROGRESS FROM THIS YEAR AND SET GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THE BOARD CONDUCTED MOST OF THIS PROCESS IN JUNE.
HOWEVER, AT THE END OF 2021, WE MODIFIED THE SCHEDULE TO COINCIDE WITH STAFF PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SCHEDULE.
SO TODAY DR. STOUT WILL PRESENT HIS PROPOSED CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE WILL VOTE TO ACCEPT THESE GOALS OR MODIFY THEM IF THE BOARD DECIDES THAT ACTION IS APPROPRIATE.
THE APPROVED GOALS WILL THEN BECOME PART OF DR.
STOUT'S EVALUATION FOR NEXT YEAR OR SO FOR 2023.
THE SECOND PART OF THE PROCESS WILL TAKE PLACE DURING THE NOVEMBER MEETING.
[00:55:01]
THE REVIEW OF DR.STOUT'S PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR AND A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE COMPANY'S PROGRESS ON GOALS THAT WERE SET FOR 2021 AND 2022.
AT THAT TIME, WE WILL TAKE A LOOK BACK TO ASSESS HOW THE CORPORATION HAS PERFORMED UNDER DR.
UM, SO DR. STOUT, I WILL TURN THE FLOOR BACK TO YOU IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE SCHEDULE OR NO QUESTIONS.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, THESE AREN'T THAT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DID THIS YEAR.
UM, WE STILL HAVE A SIMILAR GOAL AROUND WHAT WE CALL ONE-ON-ONE.
SO MANAGEMENT SUPERVISOR MEETINGS WITH THEIR STAFF ONE-ON-ONE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH.
AND THE GOAL IS WRITTEN IN SUCH A WAY THAT ALL OF THE SECTIONS COMPLETE AT LEAST 80% OF THEIR ONE-ON-ONES.
UM, SO WE CAN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, ONE SECTION THAT DOES 120% AND ANOTHER SECTION THAT DOESN'T DO ANY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE SECTIONS ARE DOING THAT.
AND THE OTHER PART THAT WE'VE SHIFTED IN THIS, WE HAD A COMPONENT IN THERE THAT A SEMI-ANNUAL OR SIX MONTH MID-YEAR REVIEW WAS COMPLETED.
THAT PROCESS HAS BEEN LABORIOUS, WHICH REDUCES COMPLIANCE.
SO WHAT WE'RE SHIFTING TO IS USING ONE OF THOSE ONE-ON-ONES IN A MORE ABBREVIATED DOCUMENTATION FORM TO TRY AND MAKE THAT EASIER FOR THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY COMPLETE IT.
UH, WE FIND THAT THE ONE-ON-ONES ARE REALLY VALUABLE, UH, IN HELPING ESTABLISH THAT MANAGEMENT STAFF RELATIONSHIP.
UM, SO THE, THE, THE GOAL IS FOCUSED AROUND DRIVING THAT, BUT THAT'S, IT'S REALLY THE SAME GOAL THAT WE HAD THIS LAST YEAR.
UM, NEXT ONE IS THE VOLUNTARY TURNOVER RATE.
WE KNOW THINGS HAVE BEEN ROUGH.
UH, SO WE'VE MADE THIS ONE THAT THE TARGET IS BETWEEN 12 AND 15%.
SO IF IT'S BETWEEN 12 AND 15%, THAT WOULD BE A THREE RATING.
IF IT'S ABOVE 15%, THAT'S LESS THAN AN ACCEPTABLE, SO THAT'S A ONE OR A TWO.
AND IF WE MANAGE SOMETHING BETTER THAN A 12%, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU KNOW, LIKES WHERE WE HAD BEEN IN THE PAST OF ABOUT 6%, THAT WOULD BE A FOUR OR FIVE DEPENDING ON WHERE IT'S ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? ALL RIGHT.
THE THIRD ONE IS THE SAME AS WHAT WE'VE HAD THIS LAST YEAR OF A MINIMUM OF 16 HOURS OF CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION.
SO THIS INCLUDES THE SUPPORT STAFF.
16 HOURS IS GEARED AROUND WHAT THE LICENSING REQUIREMENT IS WITHIN, UM, TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION FOR THE IN SCOPE DISCIPLINES THAT REQUIRE LICENSURE.
AND WHEN YOU SAY CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE, SUPPORT STAFF, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT WOULD SUPPORT STAFF CONTINUING EDUCATION ABUSE? IS IT IN THE THE FIELD OR, OR IS IT IN, IN, IN THEIR, IN THEIR PARTICULAR FIELD.
SO LIKE HR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CONTINUING ED THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR HR.
HE'S GOT CONTINUING ED NEEDS THERE.
UM, SO IT IS NOT JUST SIMPLY FOCUSED ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, BUT THAT WE ALSO INCLUDE OUR SUPPORT ASPECTS IN THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING THEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, THE LAST ONE IS THE ONE THAT HAS ACTUALLY SOME CHANGE TO IT.
ANY OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR A WHILE KNOW WE HAVE TRIED A VARIETY OF WAYS OF TRYING TO APPROPRIATELY REFLECT PRODUCTION GOALS THAT DON'T CREATE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
AND WE HAVE HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT TURNAROUND TIME NUMBERS AND HOW DO WE TRY AND DO THIS AT THE CORPORATE LEVEL.
UM, AND AMY AND I HAVE TRIED INNUMERABLE WAYS OF HOW DO WE BALANCE THINGS, DO, UH, YOU KNOW, LOAD BALANCING, ALL THESE DIFFERENT WAYS OF WAITING TO TRY AND CLUMP PRODUCTION STANDARDS INTO ONE STANDARD.
AT THE CORPORATE LEVEL, THE PROBLEM IS WHAT IS WORKABLE AND REALISTIC AND APPROPRIATE FOR SEIZED DRUGS IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR TOXICOLOGY IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR LATENT PRINTS IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR HR.
SO RATHER THAN A SINGLE NUMBER LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, WHAT WE'VE SAID THIS YEAR IS EACH SECTION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SECTION GOAL.
AND THEN REALLY WHAT OUR CORPORATE GOAL IS, IS THE NUMBER OF SECTIONS THAT MEET THEIR GOALS.
SO AMY AND THE SENIOR TEAM WILL WORK WITH EACH OF THE SECTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THE SECTION THAT REFLECTS THE FACT THAT WE GOTTA GET RESULTS OUT THE
[01:00:01]
DOOR.UM, AND THAT'S WHY THERE, THERE'S 14 HERE AND FOR THE STAFF SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD BE THE VARIOUS RATINGS IF NONE OF THE SECTIONS HIT THEIR GOAL.
THAT WOULD BE A ONE IF EVERYBODY HITS THEIR GOAL.
AND 14 INCLUDES THINGS LIKE IT AND HR AND FINANCE.
SO THERE'S SUPPORT SECTIONS, BUT IF THE SUPPORT SECTIONS DON'T FUNCTION, IT DOESN'T HELP THE TECHNICAL SECTIONS FUNCTION.
IF ALL 14 MAKE THEIR GOAL, WELL THAT BE A FIVE.
AND SO THEN IN BETWEEN IS WHERE WE'VE HAD LOTS OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHERE WE PUT THE, THE FIELD GOALS IN BETWEEN.
THEY'RE WEIGHTED MORE TOWARDS MORE SECTIONS HAVE TO MEET THEIR GOALS TO BE AT LEAST SUFFICIENT OR MORE.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE STRATEGY THIS YEAR, RATHER THAN TRYING TO ROLL IT ALL UP INTO ONE NUMBER, WHICH EVERY YEAR IT'S, WE'VE THOUGHT WE'VE FOUND THE FORMULA THAT MIGHT WORK AND IT HAS ENDED UP WITH SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE.
SO ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE GOALS FOR THIS NEXT YEAR? OKAY, HARRY, NO QUESTIONS.
UH, WE, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT CHANGING THEM OR ADDING SUBTRACTING? OKAY, SO IT'S TIME FOR A VOICE VOTE TO EITHER APPROVE OR NOT APPROVE.
SO BOARD MEMBERS, IF YOU'LL PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT DR.
STOUT'S PROPOSED ANNUAL CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND GOAL FOR 2022 AND 2023 YEAR.
ALRIGHTY, MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.
THIS IS TO CONSIDER DELEGATING AUTHORITY TO DR. STOUT TO NEGOTIATE AND ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR DNA OUTSOURCING SERVICES BETWEEN THE CORPORATION AND SIGNATURE SCIENCE TO BE FUNDED BY THE FY 2021 BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DNA CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT AND BACKLOG GRANT, THE TOTAL BUDGET IS NOT TO EXCEED $318,050.
UM, MEMBERS, AS DR. STOUT MENTIONED IN THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT, GRANT FUNDING AS A VITAL RESOURCE THAT HFSC DOES HAVE IT AT ITS DISPOSABLE.
WE ARE CONSIDERING THIS AGREEMENT FOR DNA OUTSOURCING TODAY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT DR. STOUT IS REQUESTING THAT THE BOARD DELEGATE AUTHORITY TO HIM TO EXECUTE THE FINAL CONTRACT IF AND WHEN WE AGREE TO TERMS WITH THE VENDOR OUTSOURCING AND GRANT AWARDS ARE ALWAYS TIME SENSITIVE.
SO WE DO NOT WANT TO DELAY GETTING THIS AGREEMENT SIGNED, NOR CAN OUR STAFF WAIT UNTIL NOVEMBER TO SEND THESE CASES OUT.
UH, DR. STOUT, CAN YOU PROVIDE SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AGENDA ITEM SO WE CAN VOTE? REALLY, THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT IN THIS CONTRACT.
REALLY, THERE'S NOTHING DIFFERENT IN THIS CONTRACT THAN PAST, UM, OUTSOURCING CONTRACTS.
THIS ONE IS WITH SIGNATURE SCIENCE.
UM, REMEMBER REALLY THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS IN THE COUNTRY.
ONE IS BODHI CELLMARK, UM, THE OTHER IS SIG SAI THAT ARE ACTUALLY QUALIFIED TO DO WORK HERE IN TEXAS AND ONES THAT WE ARE COMFORTABLE USING.
UH, WE'VE USED SIGNATURE SCIENCE A LOT.
WE'VE BEEN PRETTY HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY DO.
UM, BUT THAT'S, OTHERWISE IT IS, IT IS FOR OUTSOURCING MATERIALS TO 'EM.
ALRIGHT, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR DR. STOUT? OKAY.
SO WE WILL CONDUCT ANOTHER VOICE VOTE AT THIS TIME.
SO, BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AGAIN, IF, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO DELEGATE AUTHORITY TO DR. STOUT TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH SIGNATURE SCIENCE FOR DNA OUTSOURCING TO BE FUNDED BY THE 2021 BJA SEBER GRANT, TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE NOT TO EXCEED $318,050.
ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION? ANY SEC? A SECOND? SECOND.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
WE'LL GET STUFF PACKAGED UP AND MAILED OUT.
MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 10.
THIS WILL BE YES, 10, UM, PRESENTATION BY MR. DAVID LEACH, OUR TREASURER AND CFO REGARDING THE APPROVAL OF PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET REALLOCATION AND A POSSIBLE RELATED ACTION.
SO, AS YOU ARE AWARE, UM, AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, UH, EVERY YEAR, UH, I HAVE TO COME BEFORE YOU AND ASK FOR APPROVAL FOR AN ADJUSTED BUDGET BECAUSE, UH,
[01:05:01]
WE'RE, WE'RE IN A POSITION TO WHERE EACH LINE ITEM WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO OVERSPEND.OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN'T OVERSPEND THE TOTAL BUDGET BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY CASH THAT I CAN BORROW, SO THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FINALIZE ALL THE NUMBERS FOR THE YEAR END FISCAL YEAR 22.
AND AGAIN, N NET CHANGE IS ZERO.
I AM MOVING NUMBERS AROUND BETWEEN SPECIFIC ACCOUNTS, UH, AS WE GET CLOSER, YOU KNOW, TO SPENDING THE FULL AMOUNT, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE ADJUSTMENTS.
UH, THE LAST COLUMN WHERE IT SAYS FY 22 BUDGET FINAL, THAT IS WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO APPROVE.
YOU'LL NOTICE ON THE LAST SLIDE THAT THE NET CHANGE IS ZERO.
SO THERE'S NO CHANGE IN TOTAL OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.
ONE, I, I USUALLY DON'T BRING UP REVENUE, BUT YOU'LL JUST NOTICE THERE THAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY KIND OF, UH, GUESSTIMATED AROUND 1.6 MILLION IN GRANTS.
WE ALMOST CAME IN AT 2 MILLION THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S A GOOD THING IN REVENUE.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST A DIRECT PASS THROUGH BETWEEN WHEN WE SPEND IT IN A SPECIFIC ACCOUNT, WE THEN GET THAT MONEY BACK.
SO THAT ACCOUNTS FOR SOME OF THE CHANGES ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THERE'S JUST MINOR CHANGES IN PAYROLL.
I CAN USUALLY FORECAST PAYROLL PRETTY CLOSE BECAUSE IT'S PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND WE KNOW WHAT THEY MAKE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THE NET CHANGES BEING ZERO, UH, ON SUPPLIES, A FEW CHANGES.
LINE ITEMS NEED TO MOVE AROUND AGAIN.
UH, NET CHANGE ZERO, THIS IS THE BIGGER ONE WITH THE SERVICES, A LOT OF LINE ITEMS AND MOVEMENTS, UH, BETWEEN ACCOUNTS.
BUT AGAIN, THE NET CHANGE BEING ZERO AND THEN THE BOTTOM AMOUNT IS ZERO.
SO, UH, ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I ASK YOU TO APPROVE? OKAY.
SO I WOULD REQUEST THAT YOU APPROVE WHAT IS PRESENTED HERE AS THE FINAL FY 22 BUDGET.
SO WE'LL NOW HAVE ANOTHER VO UH, ANOTHER VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET REALLOCATION.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET REALLOCATION AS PRESENTED BY MR. LEACH? SO,
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? OKAY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ANYONE OPPOSED? ALRIGHT, MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
UH, AGENDA ITEM 11 IS REPORT FROM MS. ERICA ZIMAK, QUALITY DIRECTOR, INCLUDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM, INTERNAL AUDITS, TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION DISCLOSURES AND TESTIMONY MONITORING.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? THE MIC IS ON.
SO FIRST I WANNA START WITH JUST OUR MONTHLY METRICS FOR OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM.
WE'VE INCLUDED THEM FOR JULY AND ALSO AUGUST.
AND THEN THIS AGAIN, ARE OUR METRICS FOR CASES COMPLETED.
UM, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM, I'LL HAPPILY ANSWER THEM, BUT I WAS PLANNING TO SPEND MOST OF MY PRESENTATION TODAY SPEAKING ABOUT OUR ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY AND ALSO OUR DISCLOSURES AT THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION.
SO OUR ASSESSMENT OCCURRED, UM, FROM AUGUST 8TH TO 11TH.
AND JUST SO THE BOARD HAS AN UNDERSTANDING, THERE WERE NINE ASSESSORS, SEVEN IN PERSON AND TWO REMOTE THAT CAME TO HFSC, WHO ESSENTIALLY LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTATION, ALL OF OUR RECORDS, UM, THROUGH ALL SEVEN TECHNICAL SECTIONS, AS WELL AS OUR OVERARCHING QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND ASSESSED US FOR OUR COMPLIANCE TO THE ISO STANDARD, UM, THAT WE ARE ACCREDITED TO.
UH, ALL TOLD IT WAS A WHIRLWIND OF A WEEK, AS I'M SURE YOU CAN IMAGINE.
CLEARLY STAFF WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING DOCUMENTS TO ALL THE ASSESSORS THAT THEY NEEDED TO SEE.
AND THERE WERE MULTIPLE WITNESSING EVENTS WHERE ASSESSORS WERE ABLE TO PHYSICALLY OBSERVE TESTING AND ANALYSIS.
THAT IS THEN IN OUR LABORATORY.
UM, THE CLOSING MEETING WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR FIVE O'CLOCK ON THE 11TH.
THAT THEN GOT PUSHED BACK TO FIVE 30, THEN TO 5 45, AND THEN FINALLY TO 6:00 PM AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE LEAD ASSESSOR OUT THE DOOR AND ONTO HER FLIGHT OVER AT A IAH ON TIME.
BUT IT WAS, LIKE I SAID, A WHIRLWIND, AND SHE WAS SCRAMBLING TO GET OUT THERE.
UM, ALL TOLD THE ASSESSMENT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UH, MY TEAM SHOUT OUT TO THEM, THEY DID AN AMAZING JOB, AND WE HAD MULTIPLE STAFF MEMBERS WHO OF COURSE HAD TO STEP IN AND WALK ASSESSORS THROUGH CASE FILES AND CASE RECORDS AND ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTATION.
[01:10:01]
AS A FINAL RESULT, WE ENDED UP WITH FIVE FINDINGS, ONE OF WHICH WAS FOR THE FIREARM SECTION, AND FOUR OF WHICH FOR THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION.AND ZEL EXPLAINED THOSE FOUR IN THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION WERE RELATED TO EACH OTHER.
SO FIRST, FOR THE FIREARM SECTION, THE WAY THAT THE SECTION CURRENTLY ISSUES THEIR REPORTS, THERE'S A LINK ON THEIR REPORT THAT TAKES THE USER TO HSCS DISCOVERY SITE, WHERE THEY CAN ACCESS A DOCUMENT THAT PROVIDES THEM WITH EXPLANATIONS AS TO WHAT IS AN IDENTIFICATION, WHAT IS AN EXCLUSION, WHAT IS, UM, AN INCONCLUSIVE RESULT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? BUT MOVING FORWARD, WHAT THE FIREARM SECTION IS GOING TO DO IS TAKE ALL THE VERBIAGE FROM THAT DOCUMENT AND INCLUDE IT ON THEIR REPORT TEMPLATE ITSELF SO THAT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE USER ON THE REPORT.
THEY WON'T HAVE TO PUT IN ANY EXTRA EFFORT TO GO AND FIND THAT INFORMATION, BECAUSE PROVIDING THOSE EXPLANATIONS IS A REQUIREMENT.
BUT NOW THAT THOSE EXPLANATIONS WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE REPORT THEMSELVES, AND ALSO IN BRINGING ALL OF THAT WORDING OVER TO THEIR REPORTS, THEY'RE GOING TO REVISE THEIR EXPLANATION FOR INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS.
UM, IT PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED THREE, UM, SCENARIOS IN WHICH AN INCONCLUSIVE RESULT COULD BE RENDERED, AND THEY'RE GOING TO SORT OF DIAL BACK ON THAT AND GIVE IT A MORE BROAD DEFINITION, AND AGAIN, HAVE THAT INCLUDED ON ALL REPORTS.
AND THE INTENT OF THIS REQUIREMENT IS TO ENSURE STAKEHOLDERS UNDERSTANDING OF THE REPORT THAT THEY'RE BEING PROVIDED WITH.
SO OF COURSE, WE ARE EAGER TO MAKE THAT CHANGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO A NAB AND PROPOSED TO THEM WHAT OUR ACTION PLAN IS, AND THEY HAVE JUST APPROVED IT.
WE GOT THE APPROVAL YESTERDAY.
SO WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND LIKE I SAID, GET THAT IMPLEMENTED.
AND WE WILL PROVIDE A NAB WITH OUR FINAL RESOLUTION BEFORE, UM, OCTOBER 11TH, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A SATURDAY, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
BUT OF COURSE, I WOULD MUCH RATHER PREFER TO GET IT TO THEM EVEN SOONER THAN THAT IF POSSIBLE.
AND ALSO, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD FOUR FINDINGS IN THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION.
ALL FOUR FINDINGS ARE INTERRELATED.
THEY ALL HAVE TO DO WITH OUR VALIDATION DOCUMENTATION AROUND EXCEL BASED WORKBOOKS THAT THE LABORATORY USES IN THEIR NORMAL WORKFLOW AND PROCESSES.
SO WE'VE DONE A REVIEW, WE'VE CONFIRMED THERE IS NO CONCERN ABOUT THE VALIDATIONS THAT WERE DONE THEMSELVES, BUT RATHER OUR DOCUMENTATION AROUND THOSE VALIDATIONS.
AND SO THE NEW QAS, THAT'S THE QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS THAT WERE AUTHORED BY THE, THE FORENSIC BUREAU, THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THE FBI, UM, THEY AUTHORED NEW STANDARDS IN 2020.
AND THOSE STANDARDS ARE VERY PRESCRIPTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO SOFTWARE VALIDATIONS.
AND THEY APPLY TO EVERYTHING FROM BRINGING ONLINE PROBABILISTIC GENOTYPING TO MAKING A CHANGE TO AN EXCEL WORKBOOK THAT IS USED BY STAFF.
EVEN IF THAT CHANGE IS SOLELY FOR AESTHETIC REASONS, EVEN IF WE'RE, FOR EXAMPLE, GOING TO START COLOR CODING A PARTICULAR CELL ON A WORKBOOK THAT WE USE TO FLAG AN ANALYST'S ATTENTION TO IT, THERE'S STILL A REQUIREMENT FOR THE TECHNICAL LEADER TO LOOK AT WHAT THAT PROPOSED CHANGE IS GOING TO BE, DETERMINE IF THAT'S A MAJOR REVISION OR A MINOR REVISION, AND THEN JUSTIFY ESSENTIALLY WHAT TESTING IS GOING TO BE DONE, NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND IF THERE IS SUGGESTED OR OPTIONAL TESTING JUSTIFYING WHY THAT TESTING ISN'T BEING DONE.
SO AGAIN, THERE WERE NO CONCERNS THAT WE DIDN'T VALIDATE ENOUGH OR MISSED SOME SORT OF STUDY, BUT RATHER OUR DOCUMENTATION THAT THE ASSESSOR REVIEWED TO DETERMINE THAT OUR VALIDATION WAS APPROPRIATE WAS MISSING SOME KEY COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE DESIGNATION OF WHETHER IT WAS MAJOR OR MINOR, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND IF A STUDY WASN'T DONE, WE WERE MISSING DOCUMENTATION AROUND THE TECHNICAL LEADER'S DECISION AS TO WHY THAT STUDY WASN'T DONE.
SO AGAIN, MOVING FORWARD, WE HAVE CREATED A NEW DOCUMENTATION SCHEME THAT IS GOING TO TOUCH ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS AND WILL ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT FROM QUALITY'S POINT OF VIEW, AND HOPEFULLY ALSO FOR FORENSIC BIOLOGY'S POINT OF VIEW.
AND WE'VE PROVIDED WHAT OUR PROPOSED ACTION PLAN IS TO A NAB.
THEY HAVE ALREADY APPROVED IT.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO LIVE WITH THAT NEW DOCUMENTATION SCHEME LATER THIS MONTH.
AND AGAIN, PROVIDE ALL OF THAT FINAL DOCUMENTATION AROUND OUR RESOLUTIONS TO A NAB WITHIN, UH, THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER ABOUT OUR ASSESSMENT? OKAY, THEN I'M GOING TO TRANSITION OVER TO OUR DISCLOSURES.
THERE ARE THREE DISCLOSURES THAT I WANT TO DISCUSS WITH THE BOARD TODAY.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, CENTERS AROUND OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM.
AND SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT HAPPENED
[01:15:01]
GENERATE DNA PROFILES AND SUBMIT THEM INTO OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM IN THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION.WHAT WE HAVE DONE HISTORICALLY WAS NOTIFY OUR CODIS UNIT THAT WE WERE PURCHASING NEW PROFILES.
SO THE CODIS UNIT WAS AWARE AND OF COURSE, COULD, UM, KEEP TRACK OF THOSE PROFILES TO PREVENT THEM FROM BEING UPLOADED INTO THE CODIS DATABASE.
HOWEVER, IN THIS INSTANCE, WE DID NOT DO THAT.
THE QUALITY DIVISION FAILED TO COMMUNICATE PROPERLY WITH THE CODIS UNIT.
THE CODIS UNIT HAD NO IDEA THAT WE HAD PURCHASED NEW SAMPLES.
WE WENT AHEAD AND STARTED CREATING THOSE EVIDENCE ITEMS TO SUBMIT THROUGH OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM.
AND INADVERTENTLY, BECAUSE OUR FAILSAFE AT THE CODIS UNIT DIDN'T EXIST, WE UPLOADED THREE OF THOSE PROFILES TO THE CODIS DATABASE.
TWO OF THOSE PROFILES DIDN'T END UP HAVING ANY SORT OF HITS IN THE DATABASE, BUT ONE OF THEM, IN FACT, DID ONE OF THEM HIT TO A CONVICTED OFFENDER FROM TENNESSEE, AS WELL AS AN INVESTIGATIVE, UM, AN EVIDENTIARY PROFILE FROM A CASE IN TENNESSEE.
NOW, IN FOLLOWING UP WITH TENNESSEE, THEIR INVESTIGATION WASN'T IMPACTED ANYWAY.
UH, THEIR EVIDENTIARY CASE WAS COLLECTED IN THE YEAR 2000.
THEIR SATURATED LIMITATIONS HAD ALREADY EXPIRED ON THEIR CASE, AND THE IDEA THAT THERE WAS A SUBSEQUENT HIT TO A BURGLARY CASE IN HOUSTON DIDN'T RAISE ANY ALARMS ON THEIR END, DIDN'T IMPACT THAT THEIR CASE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.
AND IN FOLLOWING UP WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEY WERE ABLE TO READILY ASSESS THAT THIS CASE WAS IN FACT A BLIND QUALITY CONTROL CASE AND INDICATED THAT THEIR OFFICE WASN'T IMPACTED IN ANY WAY.
NOW, CLEARLY THE INTENT WAS NOT TO UPLOAD THESE PROFILES AND CLEARLY NOT TO IMPACT ANY AGENCIES.
LUCKILY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THIS CASE, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY HIGHLIGHTED A FAILURE ON THE QUALITY DIVISION'S PART TO MAKE SURE THAT WE IN ENSURE MOVING FORWARD, THAT WE INVOLVE THE CODIS UNIT AND ACTUALLY DOCUMENT THEIR APPROVAL OF HAVING RECEIVED THESE DNA PROFILES PRIOR TO EVER USING THEM IN CASEWORK.
AND SO THIS DISCLOSURE WAS PROVIDED TO THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION, AND AT THEIR, UM, JULY MEETING, THEY VOTED TO TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION BASED ON THE LABORATORIES CORRECTIVE ACTIONS AND ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THAT DISCLOSURE? YES, DROUT, FOR THE RECORD, I, I DON'T SEE THAT QUALITY FAILED ON THIS ONE.
I SEE THE FBI FAILED ON THIS ONE.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE FBI TO BE MORE PARTICIPATORY WITH US IN HOW WE MANAGE AND DESIGN BLINDS AND FOR THE APHIS DATABASE AND FOR CODIS, THE FBI HAS BEEN RECALCITRANT TO SAY THE LEAST.
SO THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE IF THEY WERE PARTICIPATORY IN THIS, AND WE ACTUALLY MANAGE THESE THINGS AS THEY SHOULD BE IN THOSE DATABASES.
SO YES, I APPRECIATE QUALITIES RESPONSE TO THIS, BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR, MY UMBRAGE IS WITH THE FBI, NOT WITH QUALITY.
ARE THERE ANY QUE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS DISCLOSURE? OKAY, THEN I WANTED TO GIVE THE BOARD AN UPDATE ON OUR DISCLOSURE FROM THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION REGARDING THE JOSEPH COLON CASE.
I'M ABOUT TO GIVE YOU A RECAP ON WHAT WE'VE COVERED SO FAR, AND THEN ALSO GIVE YOU THE UPDATES THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU.
UM, JUST SO THE BOARD RECALLS, AN HFSC ANALYST TESTIFIED IN 2017 FOR A TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY CAPITAL MURDER CASE WHERE JOSEPH COLON WAS THE DEFENDANT.
UH, THE HFSC EMPLOYEE TESTIFIED REGARDING THE 2013 EVIDENCE EXAMINATION THAT HE HAD PERFORMED AT DPS WHILE EMPLOYED THERE.
BUT THEN LATER, THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS ISSUED AN OPINION AND MANDATE IN MARCH, 2022, OVERTURNING THE DEATH SENTENCE, SENTENCE CONVICTION.
AND THE OPINION FOUND THAT THE ANALYST GAVE THE JURY A FALSE IMPRESSION WHEN HE SUGGESTED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING AWRY WITH THE MANNER IN WHICH THE EVIDENCE WAS PACKAGED AND HANDLED AT TEXAS DPS.
SO HFSC ACTUALLY REQUESTED THE ASSISTANCE OF THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION TO HELP INVESTIGATE THIS MANNER BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER POSITIONED THAN WE ARE TO PERFORM THAT INVESTIGATION, BEING THAT IT SPANS MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS AT A MINIMUM HFSC, BUT ALSO TEXAS DPS.
BUT IT ALSO TOUCHES ON THE COURT SYSTEM, UM, OUTSIDE OF HARRIS COUNTY.
AND SO THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION IN APRIL OF 2022 AGREED TO FORM AN INVESTIGATIVE PANEL IN ORDER TO PERFORM THEIR INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MATTER.
THE ANALYST WAS TERMINATED FROM HFSC IN MAY, 2022, AND THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
[01:20:01]
HAS REQUESTED A REWORK OF IMPACTED CASES.NOW, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO GET A A FIRM EYES ON WHAT EXACTLY THE NUMBER OF IMPACTED CASES IS BECAUSE THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS CONCERNED ABOUT CASES WHERE THIS ANALYST WAS EITHER THE AUTHOR OF THE REPORT, THE TECHNICAL REVIEWER OF THE REPORT, THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWER OF THE REPORT, OR PLAYED ANY SORT OF ROLE FROM A TECHNICIAN'S STANDPOINT.
AND WHILE SOME OF THOSE ROLES ARE EASY FOR, FROM OUR END IN ORDER IN OUR SOFTWARE SYSTEM TO TRACK AND QUERY, THERE ARE OTHER ROLES IN WHICH HE PLAYED SPECIFICALLY THE TECHNICIAN ROLE, WHERE WE DON'T HAVE A WAY OF BEING ABLE TO QUERY THAT IN A READILY.
SO IT WOULD INVOLVE PHYSICALLY OPENING UP INDIVIDUAL CASE FILES AND DETERMINING EXACTLY WHAT HIS, UM, ROLE WAS IN A PARTICULAR CASE WITH NO IDEA TO KNOW WHICH CASES TO OPEN AND WHICH ONES HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH.
SO WE ARE COLLABORATING WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO DETERMINE WHAT REWORK LOOKS LIKE IN ANY OF THE PENDING CASES OR FUTURE CASES.
UM, MEANING CASES THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY GET ASSIGNED A TRIAL DATE, HAVING TO TAKE A LOOK IN THAT CASE AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS ANALYST HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT AND THEN DETERMINING THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF RE-REVIEW OR REWORK DEPENDING ON HIS ROLE.
SO THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION IS ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO BE ABLE TO PRIORITIZE THOSE APPROPRIATELY AND PERFORM ANY SORT OF, LIKE I SAID, ANALYSIS OR REWORK THAT'S NEEDED.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE UPDATE I WANTED TO PROVIDE TO THE BOARD IS NOW WE ARE ALSO IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE TO DO AN AUDIT OF PREVIOUS CASES WHERE THIS ANALYST WAS INVOLVED.
AND THAT REVIEW WILL START WITH DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT THE DNA ANALYSIS WAS MATERIAL TO THAT CASE.
AND ONCE MATERIALITY IS ESTABLISHED, THEN NEEDING TO DO AN IN-DEPTH CASE REVIEW THAT WILL LIKELY SPAN NOT ONLY THE CASE WORK, BUT ALSO THE TESTIMONY FOR THAT CASE IF APPLICABLE.
AND SO, WHILE WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT IN-DEPTH REVIEW WILL LOOK LIKE YET, CLEARLY HFSC WANTS TO BE A PART OF THAT REVIEW.
BUT WHETHER IT'LL EXTEND BEYOND HFSC, WE DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS YET.
I ASSUME THAT IT WILL, BUT AS TO WHAT THAT EXPANSION LOOKS LIKE, WE DON'T KNOW AS OF YET.
SO WE ARE WAITING FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE TO LET US KNOW WHEN IS AN APPROPRIATE TIME FOR OUR INVOLVEMENT, AND WE WILL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE NUMBER OF CASES IN WHICH THAT REVIEW WILL, UM, ENTAIL.
AND THAT INFORMATION HAS ALSO BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION.
WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT AT THE OCTOBER 7TH MEETING THAT THE INVESTIGATIVE PANEL WILL HAVE COMPLETED THEIR INVESTIGATION.
OF COURSE, I DON'T KNOW THAT FOR A FACT, BUT WE WILL ATTEND THE MEETING AND WE WILL SEE, UM, PART OF THAT, PART OF, OF THAT INVESTIGATION WILL BE TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT A FINDING OF PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE OR PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT FOR THE FORMER HFSC STAFF MEMBER IS APPROPRIATE.
AND SO WE WILL SEE AT THAT MEETING WHETHER OR NOT THAT DETERMINATION HAS BEEN MADE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THIS DISCLOSURE? OKAY.
AND THERE'S ONE MORE DISCLOSURE THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE BOARD.
THIS ONE HAS TO DO WITH THE FIREARM SECTION AT THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.
WE HAVE PROVIDED, UM, THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION WITH OUR FINAL CORRECTIVE ACTION.
AND, UM, IT WILL BE ON THEIR, IT WILL BE FEATURED ON THEIR AGENDA AT THE OCTOBER 7TH MEETING.
SO BEFORE I GET STARTED ON THE DETAILS, I JUST WANNA GIVE THE BOARD A, A GENERAL CONCEPT OF WHAT THE FIREARM SECTION LOOKS LIKE IN THE SENSE THAT THERE ARE TWO PIECES.
THE FIRST PIECE IS THE BIN PIECE WHERE WEAPONS ARE TEST FIRED AND THOSE TEST FIRES ARE ENTERED INTO THE BIN, UM, DATABASE ESSENTIALLY.
AND THE SECOND PIECE IS THE FIREARMS COMPARISON PIECE, WHERE A FIREARMS EXAMINER RECEIVES A REQUEST FOR COMPARISON.
AND IN PART OF THAT COMPARISON REQUEST, THEY TAKE THOSE ORIGINALLY MADE TEST FIRES AND THEY ARE FACTORED INTO THEIR COMPARISON.
SO THE PIECE THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT TODAY HAS TO DO WITH THE NIBIN PIECE, BUT IT WAS ULTIMATELY DISCOVERED BECAUSE OF THE COMPARISON PIECE.
SO A REQUEST FOR COMPARISON CAME IN, A FIREARMS EXAMINER WAS ASSIGNED TO PERFORM THAT REQUEST.
AND WHEN THE EXAMINER WENT TO RETRIEVE THOSE TEST FIRES, IT WAS APPARENT JUST VISUALLY THAT THERE WAS NO WAY THAT THESE TEST FIRES COULD HAVE COME FROM THE FIREARM THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CASE.
AND TO FURTHER COMPLICATE MATTERS, THE TEST FIRES THEMSELVES WERE NOT PROPERLY LABELED.
SO THERE WAS NO WAY TO LOOK AT THEM AND ASCERTAIN WHAT CASE THEY CAME FROM AND WHAT
[01:25:01]
ITEM NUMBER FROM THAT CASE THEY WERE AS IS REQUIRED IN THE FIREARM SECTION.SO THE SECTION SOUGHT OUT TO FIND OUT WHEN WHAT OTHER TEST FIRES WERE MADE AROUND THAT SAME TIME, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO LOCATE THE CASE THAT THOSE TEST FIRES WERE POTENTIALLY SWITCHED WITH? AND WHILE THE FIREARMS SECTION WAS ABLE TO DO THAT, THEY THINK THEY BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE LOCATED THE CASE.
WHAT THEY FOUND IN THEIR REVIEW OR AUDIT, IF YOU WILL, OF THOSE CASES, WAS THAT IT WASN'T AN ISOLATED EVENT WHERE THESE TEST FIRES WERE NOT PROPERLY LABELED WERE IT EXTENDED BEYOND JUST THIS CASE.
AND WHILE THE TEST FIRE'S, EXTERIOR PACKAGING WAS LABELED APPROPRIATELY, IT WAS THE TEST FIRES THEMSELVES THAT WERE NOT.
SO THAT THEN SPARKED A MUCH LARGER CONCERN.
AND THE FIREARM SECTION SOUGHT OUT TO LOOK AT TEST FIRES FROM THIS NIVAN TECHNICIAN FROM WHEN HE WAS FIRST AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM HIS WORK.
AND THAT AUDIT REVEALED THAT, YES, IN FACT, WHEN HE WAS FIRST AUTHORIZED FOR CASEWORK, HIS TEST FIRES WERE APPROPRIATELY LABELED.
THEY THEN SOUGHT OUT DIFFERENT DATES AND TIME TO TRY AND DETERMINE AT WHAT POINT IN TIME DID THIS LABELING CEASE TO EXIST.
AND WHAT THEY SAW WAS THAT LABELING WAS EITHER NOT THERE AT ALL OR WAS THERE, BUT WAS ILLEGIBLE.
AND SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF IT'S ILLEGIBLY LABELED, IT'S NOT LABELED AT ALL.
SO THEY WERE HOPING FOR, AND AGAIN, LOOKING BACK, IT WAS PERHAPS UNREALISTIC, BUT LOOKING FOR A DAY, IF YOU WILL, RIGHT? OH, OKAY.
ANYTHING AFTER THIS DAY WASN'T PROPERLY LABELED.
WE CAN THEREFORE SAY, YOU KNOW, TEST FIRE AFTER THIS DAY, WE CAN'T USE.
BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DISCERN A SPECIFIC DATE AND TIME.
IT WASN'T AS EASY AS THAT, WHICH AGAIN, IN HINDSIGHT MAKES SENSE.
SO WHAT THEY OPTED TO DO INSTEAD, INSTEAD OF EXPENDING ANY MORE RESOURCES PERFORMING, UM, AN AUDIT OF TEST FIRES, THEY MADE THE DECISION THAT MOVING FORWARD THEY WOULD AVOID USING THIS NIVAN TECHNICIANS TEST FIRES FOR CASE IN CASE WORK AT ALL, AT ALL COSTS MOVING FORWARD.
AND THAT DECISION WAS COMMUNICATED TO THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
THEN HOWEVER, WHAT THEY REALIZED WAS THAT IF THEY DID HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT ALL TEST FIRES CREATED FROM THIS ANALYST, WHAT WAS THEIR OBLIGATION TO GO BACKWARDS TO ANY COMPARISON REQUESTS WHERE HIS TEST FIRES WERE IN FACT USED? SO THEY SOUGHT OUT TO DO A SECOND AUDIT THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO ANY COMPARISON REQUEST THAT WAS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED WHERE THE NIVAN TECHNICIAN CREATED TEST FIRES THAT WERE USED.
THEY LOCATED 46 REQUESTS SPANNING 45 CASES, 'CAUSE ONE CASE HAD TWO REQUESTS.
AND THEY WERE ABLE TO CATEGORIZE THOSE CASES INTO THREE DIFFERENT BUCKETS.
AND DEPENDING ON WHICH BUCKET IT FELL INTO, THAT DICTATED THE LEVEL OF EITHER REWORK OR RE-ANALYSIS OR REVIEW THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
SO FORTUNATELY DURING THAT AUDIT, THERE WERE NO ISSUES IDENTIFIED, MEANING THERE WERE NO CONCERNS ABOUT ANY OF THE REPORTED CONCLUSIONS THAT HAD BEEN ISSUED BY THE LABORATORY.
HOWEVER, THERE WERE THREE CASES WHERE THE FIREARM IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, MEANING IT WAS RELEASED FROM THE PROPERTY ROOM.
AND THE INFORMATION REGARDING THOSE THREE CASES HAS AGAIN COMMUNICATED TO THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND SO THEIR INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN FINALIZED AND LIKE I SAID, IT'S BEEN PROVIDED TO THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION.
AND THEY WILL DISCUSS AND VOTE ON THAT DISCLOSURE ON THE OCTOBER 7TH MEETING AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE LABORATORY, UM, APPROPRIATELY RESOLVED OUR CONCERN.
UM, I, I HONESTLY CAN'T REMEMBER IF I MENTIONED IT OR NOT.
SO I WANNA SAY IT JUST ONE MORE TIME IN CASE I DIDN'T.
BUT THE NIB TECHNICIAN IS NO LONGER EMPLOYED AT THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.
AND WHEN THIS ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED, HE HAD ALREADY LEFT HIS EMPLOYMENT AT THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.
WHY DID HE DO IT TO BEGIN WITH? OR WHY DIDN'T HE DO IT? I'M JUST CURIOUS IF HE STARTED OUT DOING IT.
IT'S A FABULOUS QUESTION BECAUSE HE'S NO LONGER EMPLOYED AT THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.
THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW HIM TO TRY AND HAVE A CONVERSATION AROUND WHY THERE WAS A WHY THE CHANGE, WHY THE CHANGE, YES.
WHY THERE WAS A DECLINE IN THE QUALITY OF WORK, WASN'T THERE.
BUT I, I ALSO WISH I KNEW THE ANSWER.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THIS DISCLOSURE? OKAY, I WILL COMMUNICATE TO THE BOARD THE OUTCOME OF THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION MEETING AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING.
I'LL SAY ONE THING HERE THOUGH, 'CAUSE I KNOW ERICA WON'T.
YOU, YOU SEE THE SCALE OF AUDITS THAT QUALITY DOES ALL THE TIME.
I MEAN, THIS IS A REMARKABLE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND THIS IS JUST, THEY JUST GO ABOUT IT AND DO IT.
BUT I THINK IT IS WORTH ACKNOWLEDGING THE AMOUNT OF WORK AND THE QUALITY OF WORK THAT THEY DO IS PRETTY ASTOUNDING.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU HAVE IN QUALITY? THERE'S NINE OF US TOTAL.
[01:30:01]
THERE'S ME AND MY HEAVEN, A TEAM OF EIGHT, AND I DO APPRECIATE DR.SENTIMENTS AGAIN, HOWEVER, I WOULD SAY THAT THE HEAVIER BURDEN IS ON THE SECTIONS.
THEY ARE NOT ONLY KEEPING UP WITH ONCOMING CASE WORK, BUT THEY'RE ALSO GOING BACKWARDS TO DO THESE REVIEWS AS WELL.
AND QUALITY PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MAKE PROGRESS AND TRACKING ALL OF IT AND WORKING WITH THE DOCUMENTATION CERTAINLY, BUT THE SECTIONS THEMSELVES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE DOING THE HEAVY LIFT, TRYING TO MANAGE REWORK AND NORMAL CASEWORK EVERY DAY.
AND IT'S, IT, IT HURTS MORALE, RIGHT? I MEAN, ONLY BECAUSE STAFF IS ALREADY SO OVERWHELMED.
AND TO ADD THIS ON ALSO IS JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT OF COURSE WE HAVE TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE CASES, SO THERE'S NO CHOICE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THIS DISCLOSURE? OKAY.
AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO PRESENT THE BOARD WITH OUR TESTIMONY DATA SO FAR FOR 2022.
SO FAR WE'VE HAD 53 ANALYSTS TESTIFY, 50 OF THEM WERE MONITORED, THREE HAVE NOT BEEN, OF COURSE THIS IS A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE HAD NON-CONFORMANCES IN THE PAST WHERE WE HAVE HAD STAFF WHO WERE NOT MONITORED AND ULTIMATELY DID NOT GET MONITORED WITHIN THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, AS IS OUR REQUIREMENT.
AND SO WE ARE REACHING OUT TO EACH ONE OF THOSE SECTIONS, I BELIEVE IT'S CSU, BIOLOGY AND SEIZE DRUGS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
AND JUST LETTING THEM KNOW THAT IF WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND REQUEST THAT TRANSCRIPT, WE NEED TO DO IT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
UM, THE COURT SYSTEM IS OVERWHELMED AND TRYING TO ASK FOR A TRANSCRIPT, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, UNDERSTANDABLY.
SO, TO START GET THOSE, RE START GETTING THOSE REQUESTS IN NOW.
AND THEN LASTLY, OUR TRANSCRIPT REVIEW PROJECT.
OUR FIRST ROUND HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND OUR SECOND ROUND WE HAD REQUESTED TRANSCRIPTS.
I ACTUALLY JUST GOT THE EMAIL YESTERDAY THAT WE RECEIVED THEM ALL.
I THINK WE HAVE ABOUT 10 TRANSCRIPTS FOR THIS ROUND, SO THAT'LL BE A GREAT, UH, WAY TO FINISH OUT THE YEAR.
'CAUSE IT WILL LIKELY TAKE US THE REST OF THE YEAR TO REVIEW ALL OF THOSE TRANSCRIPTS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER FOR THE BOARD OR ANY QUESTIONS AROUND TESTIMONY? OKAY.
NO, I JUST WANNA SAY, ERICA, WHEN WE APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO.
AND, UH, UH, AND I KNOW, UH, DR. STOUT IS EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT, UH, BUT WE APPRECIATE IT AND, UH, AND, AND THE ROLE THAT Y'ALL PLAY IN, IN HELPING AS A, AS A BOARD AND, AND AS A, AS A, UH, ORGANIZATION TO KEEP THINGS HONEST.
WE, WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.
AND THANK YOUR TEAM FOR US, PLEASE.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SHE'S GONE, SO THERE ARE NONE.
LET'S PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 12, WHICH IS ADJOURNMENT.
UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND, UH, DIRECTOR LINSKY.
ALRIGHT, UH, ALL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
I, WE WILL CALL THE MEETING TO AN END RIGHT NOW AT 10:33 AM THANK YOU AND EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.