Accreditation

Laboratory Accreditations

National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME)

The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) accreditation standards have been prepared and revised by NAME for the purpose of improving the quality of the medicolegal investigation of death in this country. Accreditation applies to offices and systems, not individual practitioners. The standards emphasize policies and procedures, not professional work product. The standards represent minimum standards for an adequate medicolegal system, not guidelines. NAME accreditation is an endorsement indicating that the office or system provides an adequate environment for a medical examiner in which to practice his or her profession and provides reasonable assurances that the office or system well serves its jurisdiction. It is the objective of NAME that the application of these standards will aid materially in developing and maintaining a high caliber of medicolegal investigation of death for the communities and jurisdictions in which they operate. 

ISO 17025 (through ANAB- ANSI National Accreditation Board)

Accreditation provides confidence in a forensic laboratory’s operation by enabling the demonstration of competence, impartiality, and consistent operation through conformance to internationally recognized standards. ANAB only uses subject matter experts with experience in the specific forensic discipline for which the agency is seeking accreditation.

American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT)

The objectives of the board are to establish, enhance, and maintain standards of qualification for those laboratories that practice postmortem forensic toxicology or human performance toxicology and to accredit as qualified laboratories those applicants who comply with the requirements of the board. In this way, the board aims to establish a practical and equitable system of readily identifying laboratories that have demonstrated the requisite qualifications and competence in forensic toxicology.

Laboratory accreditation is based upon compliance with professional standards as assessed by peer review, including an on-site inspection and successful achievement in proficiency testing programs as required by the board.

Organization for Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) Implementing Lab

The voluntary implementation of OSAC standards demonstrates the lab’s commitment to serving the citizens of the Miami Valley area at a high level.  The MVRCL is the first crime laboratory in Ohio to implement OSAC standards.

OSAC, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), continues to promote standardization in forensic science which will bolster the public’s confidence in the work of the forensic science community.   Following the core principles of balance, consensus, harmonization, and openness, these experts work together to facilitate the development of scientifically sound standards and guidelines for the forensic science community. 

Employee Certifications

American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI)

ABMDI certifies individuals who have the proven knowledge and skills necessary to perform medicolegal death investigations as set forth in the National Institutes of Justice 1999 publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator (2011 updated version available). The goal of FSAB is to establish a mechanism whereby the forensic community can assess, recognize and monitor organizations or professional boards that certify individual forensic scientists or other forensic specialists.

American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT)

The objectives of the board are to establish, enhance, and revise as necessary the standards of qualification for those who practice forensic toxicology and to certify as qualified scientists those voluntary applicants who comply with the requirements of the board. Certification is based upon the candidate’s personal and professional record of education and training, experience, achievement, and a formal written examination. The ABFT is committed to maintaining impartiality in its certification program. 

American Board of Criminalistics (ABC)

Certification is a voluntary process of peer review by which a practitioner is recognized as having attained the professional qualifications necessary to practice in one or more disciplines of criminalistics. The ABC offers certifications in biological evidence screening, forensic DNA, molecular biology, drug chemistry, and comprehensive criminalistics.

International Association for Identification (IAI)

The program consists of a rigorous educational process, a certification procedure, and re-certification requirements. Each is administered by a certification board comprised of experts in the discipline. All programs operate under the supervision of the Forensic Certification Management Board (FCMB), a sub-division of the International Association for Identification, to ensure compliance with international accreditation standards.