RFSC Advisory Board IO Report - 08/20/2026

INFORMATION ONLY REPORT

Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center

1109 North Minneapolis Street, Wichita, Kansas 67214

August 20, 2026

To: Board Members and/or Designated Attendees

Aaron Breitenbach, District Attorney’s Office
Brad Crisp, Deputy Fire Chief, Sedgwick County Fire District #1
Michael Mire, Chief, Wichita Fire Department
Jan Jarman, Deputy City Attorney, City of Wichita
Russell Leeds, Assistant County Manager
Ron Varner, Coroner, 13^th Judicial District
Darrell Atteberry, Chief of Police, Bel Aire
Jeffrey Easter, Sedgwick County Sheriff
Timothy Gorrill, Sedgwick County Coroner
Kevin Lanterman, Chief, Sedgwick County EMS
Laura Tatpati, Dean, KU School of Medicine-Wichita
Stephanie Newbold, Director, WSU Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs
Joe Sullivan, Chief, Wichita Police Department

From: Shelly Steadman, Director, Regional Forensic Science Center

Cc: Katie Asbury, Administrative Manager, Regional Forensic Science Center

QUARTERLY REPORT

Performance Metrics and Trends

Medical Investigations
- 4,207 reported deaths for 2025
- 2,486 reported deaths to date for 2026
- 470 death scenes for 2025
- 273 death scenes to date for 2026 (2026 on track to exceed 2025)

Pathology
- 1,041 autopsy cases for 2025
- 538 to date for 2026
- For 2025,12% of work was out-of-county – 13% so far in 2026
- Suicides cases remain stable
- Overdose cases have been on the decline
- Seem to be experiencing fewer fentanyl related deaths – consistent with national trend
Toxicology
- Postmortem Cases
  - Turnaround time remains manageable; did experience some environmental (cooling) challenges during the summer months
  - Toxicology backlog (25 cases > 60 days) is now more manageable (vs. 201 in July 2022)
- HPT/DUI backlog cases have decreased from 2024 (9 cases > 60 days), and the number of submissions remain stable from 2024
Drug Identification
- Backlog has decreased this quarter (340)
  - Grant-funded position (drug chemist) is awaiting year 4 approval
- Number of cases submitted has increased slightly
  - Special task force initiatives have created an extra burden
- Fire Debris
  - Two fully trained analysts are doing well to keep up – no backlog
  - 11 cases received to date in 2026; consistent with approximately 2 cases per month
- Firearms
  - Have 1 fully-trained Firearms Examiner in-house – no significant backlog
  - 84 firearms cases submitted to date in 2026 (approximately 12 cases a month)
  - Training underway for second Firearms Examiner
  - Travel to Johnson County or KBI for verifications currently
- Biology/DNA
  - Biology/DNA backlog (8) remains low
  - Biology/DNA case submissions increased significantly between 2024-2025, and that trend is continuing in 2026
  - Vacant position posted and candidate interviews are being scheduled

Quarterly Summary

Number of deaths reported has remained stable, more scene investigations seem to be necessary
Tox instrument validations continuing; awaiting year 4 OD2A State funding through KDHE for outsourcing certain cases, should resume in September
Tox LC-MS/MS room experienced mini-split failure, instruments unable to run during parts acquisition and repair
QToF installation complete, GHSA grant in place to fund training/validation
RFSC lost a Medical Investigator on Easter Sunday
All previous pathology/investigations positions that were vacant are filled
Laboratory Technician position has been filled
Drug ID fully staffed, backlog persists due to rush buys and dispensary seizures
Nearly all sections meeting KPI (90% complete w/in 90 days)
Significant work over the summer to complete laboratory internal audit
External audit scheduled for September

OD2A Grant

OD2A-funded position tests drugs and paraphernalia from scenes as well as other illicit drug casework
Medical Investigations have collected drugs and/or paraphernalia at 257 scenes since starting project December 1, 2023
Drug paraphernalia testing is caught up (1,385 items)
All participants are sharing data with CDC now
No tracking results by matrix and co-occurrence, polysubstance dashboard has launched and includes all Drug ID testing (OD2A and law enforcement seized drugs)
The only significant setback was the departure of the grant funded OD2A scientist at end of year 2; new scientist is fully trained and working cases

2025 Grants

Coverdell Formula ($53,999) à award received
CEBR 2025 ($184,627) à award released, all conditions met (down $100,000 from 2025); year 1 purchases underway
JAG à award received - acceptance pending, $48,030 expected
OD2A Local ($250,000) à Year 3 ends August 31, year 4 notice pending
KDHE OD2A ($66,000) à Year 3 ends August 31, year 4 notice pending
GHSA ($39,952) à received award, developed MOU and executed a contract with Agilent for training on QToF

2024 Grants

Coverdell Formula was $78,619 – project period ended
CEBR was $294,461 – project period ends September 30

Projects

RFP responses for Architect & Engineering work under review by committee
Staff preparing for on-site audit this fall
RFSC is working on numerous vendor contracts for Charter 68 compliance
During this quarter, Deputy Coroner Dr. Harley Shainost and Chief Toxicologist Dr. Tyson Baird presented at the Statewide Coroner Conference; Dr. Baird provided training at DEA meeting in western Kansas and participated in a NIST Workshop at the International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners (IACME) conference. Director Dr. Shelly Steadman presented OD2A Component B work at the Midwest Crime Laboratory Directors Meeting and the CDC OD2A Recipients Meeting. Chief Medical Investigator Shari Beck and Investigator Cami Bates attended the IACME conference general meeting.

2027 Budget Considerations

No significant changes in RFSC budget
Increased instrument maintenance costs expected
Firearms Examiner training anticipated cost is $40,000 over 2 years
Drug ID position funded through August 2028, will need to add FTE
Revenue may increase with out-of-county fee schedule adjustment

ADA Compliance Changes to Website

Advisory Board presentations no longer will be posted on the site
Metrics are real time and have changed in appearance and can be viewed on website
Since metrics are available on website, information only reports will be posted for Advisory Board review during quarters when meetings are not held

Next Meeting: November 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM

1109 N. Minneapolis Street, Wichita Kansas, 67214 or via Zoom (TBD)