Drug Surveillance Initiatives: An FTCOE Repository of Resources

Date December 2023 Overview In the realm of drug surveillance, a multitude of data sources originate from diverse funding agencies, including but not limited to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Centers for Disease Control…

White Paper – Information Sharing Between Medicolegal Death Investigators and Toxicology Testing Services

Date December 2023 Overview The National Institute of Justice (NIJ)—in partnership with its Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE) at RTI International and the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—convened a virtual Medicolegal Death…

Implementation Workshop: TOF/QTOF Mass Spectrometry for Identification, Screening, and Confirmation in Forensic Toxicology and Chemistry

Overview This event originally occurred on October 18, 2023 Duration 5.5 hours This virtual workshop aims to provide guidance to forensic science service providers (FSSPs) involved in the planning, purchase, use, or quality assurance surrounding TOF/QTOF-MS instrumentation. The speakers for…

Criminal Justice and Public Health Response for Emerging Drug Threats

Overview In a joint effort with the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP), FTCOE develops capabilities that meet the needs of forensic science organizations to improve collaborations across the criminal justice and public…

Investigation & Certification of Drug Toxicity Death Training

Overview Continuing Education Credits Available 3.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ 0.4 IACET Continuing Education Units 3.75 ABMDI Continuing Education Credits The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) engaged the CDC’s federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) –…

The Sentinel Role of Forensic Toxicology Laboratories to Identify and Act Upon Diverse Drug Threats by Addressing Toxicology and Economic Demands

Publication Forensic Science International: Synergy, September, 2022 Authors Jeri D. Ropero Miller | RTI International Lawrance D. Mullen | RTI International Paul J. Speaker | West Virginia University Introduction The societal costs from substance abuse are extensive and include treatment…

Medicolegal Death Investigation Partnerships on Overdose Fatality Reviews

Date July 2022 Overview The main purpose of Overdose Fatality Reviews (OFRs) is to review overdose fatalities and find gaps in services to help save lives. They rely on a multi-agency approach to information sharing to accomplish this goal. Upon…

Project ECHO: Applications for the Medicolegal Death Investigation Community and Other Forensic Disciplines

Date October 2022 Overview Similar to the foundational ECHO model designed for primary care providers, ECHO: Overdose Fatality Investigation Techniques (OD-FIT) is designed to promote the rapid dissemination of medicolegal death investigation–specific knowledge for immediate application to overdose casework.1 The ECHO…