ASCLD Accreditation Toolkit

Imagine Accreditation Tomorrow

Welcome to the ASCLD Accreditation Toolkit designed to assist domestic, publicly funded labs and units with achieving accreditation for the first time based on a recognized International standard. Many thanks to the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence, led by RTI International, through a Cooperative Agreement from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice for funding the development of this toolkit and the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative.

Accreditation
Standards
Resources
Training

NEWEST LABS TO ACHIEVE ACCREDITATION


Featured Labs

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Nampa Police Crime Lab
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Christine Cannon

How did the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative team assist you in achieving your accreditation goals? They provided me with a mentor that walked me through each of the steps and provided valuable input regarding my policies and procedures. He helped me interpret the standard requirements and how they applied to the work my laboratory was performing.

One recommendation why labs would consider the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative? You don't have to re-invent the wheel. There are many resources available to guide you and the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative is instrumental in connecting laboratories to those resources.

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Erie County Toxicology Laboratory
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Melissa Boler

How did the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative team assist you in achieving your accreditation goals? The ASCLD Accreditation Initiative team helped prepare us for our assessment by holding meetings/phone calls, reviewing all our quality documents, addressing areas that needed improvement. Our mentor reviewed our Quality Manual word for word ensuring it addressed all the standards of 1S0 17025 AR3125.

One recommendation why labs would consider the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative? The ASCLD Accreditation Initiative will find areas that you may have overlooked.

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Guarded Exchange
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Megan Radcliffe

How did the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative team assist you in achieving your accreditation goals? We were provided with a mentor that we spoke with every week via conference call. Ranee Ho was very patient and made herself available to us throughout the entire process. We felt very supported by Ranee and by the ANAB team.

One recommendation why labs would consider the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative? I would absolutely recommend accreditation to all labs. It will give confidence as a supervisor, define roles and duties for the associates, and provide consistency and reliability for your laboratory.

Accreditation

Information about Forensic Accreditation Programs

Mentoring Team

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AAI

The ASCLD Accreditation Initiative (AAI) team is comprised of laboratory directors, quality assurance managers and technical subject matter experts that have been trained and certified as Assessors by an accrediting organization and have served in the role as an Assessor for an accreditation program. Click here to view the members of the AAI team.

Accrediting Bodies

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A2LA

A2LA programs for the accreditation of testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, medical testing laboratories, reference material producers and product certification bodies.

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ANAB

ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accreditation and training services provider in the area of management systems, personnel and product certification bodies, laboratories, inspection bodies, forensic service providers, proficiency testing and reference material producers.

Specialized Training

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A2LA Workplace Training

Be a leader in your industry by building confidence and consistency in your product through A2LA WPT’s broad spectrum of instructor-led and online e-learning training courses.

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ANAB

ANAB offers training to individuals and organizations seeking to gain knowledge and better understanding of accreditation-related requirements and processes.

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ASCLD Leadership Academy

The ASCLD Leadership Academy is a training program offered by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors for managerial personnel in forensic science laboratories.

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FTCOE Webinars

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) is committed to improving the practice and strengthening the impact of forensic science.

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NIST Webinars

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a physical sciences laboratory, and a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission is to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness.

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Lab Manager

Lab Manager features articles relating to management, technology, and equipment common to laboratories in industry, medicine, universities, and others.

Standards

Information about Forensic Accreditation Standards

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1 2 3 *Required for Accreditation, Standards Developing Organizations, Shared Manuals

Training

Links to Accreditation Training

Topics & FAQ

Volunteers

Information about Volunteering with AAI

The role of the AAI is to assist laboratories as they prepare for accreditation. The AAI mentors are laboratory directors, quality assurance managers, and technical subject matter experts that have been trained and certified as Assessors by an accrediting body and have served as an Assessor. The AAI mentors work in an advisory capacity with the lab; however, the accrediting body will determine conformance or nonconformance with the ISO standard.

Click here to navigate to the Volunteers documentation and forms
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Resources & Templates

Resources for Laboratories Seeking Accreditation

The Roadmap to Accreditation serves as a guide to assist labs work to achieve their accreditation goals.

The lab is not required to follow the Roadmap in the exact order shown on the workflow; however, all steps mentioned in the Roadmap should be considered when preparing the laboratory for an assessment by an accrediting body.

Templates for ISO Requirements

Expand each panel below to find links to documents and templates for each step of the accreditation process

Additional Resources - Video Library

What is AAI
AAI History
Risk Management

News & Updates

News, Updates, Success Stories, and Testimonials

LABS Accredited

2019-1 Nampa Police Department Crime Lab – Accredited 7/2021 A2LA - ISO 17025 - Certificate

2019-2 – Guarded Exchange – Accredited 12/2021 A2LA - ISO 17020 - Certificate

2019-3 Boise Police Department Crime Laboratory – Accredited 5/2022 A2LA - ISO 17025 - Certificate

2019-4 Salt Lake City Police Dep. Crime Lab – Accredited 6/2021 ANAB – ISO 17025 - Certificate

2020-1 City of Atlanta Police Department Crime Laboratory – Accredited 3/18/22 – ANAB – ISO 17025 - Certificate

2020-2 Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Drug Laboratory – Accredited 11/18/2021 A2LA - ISO 17025 - Certificate

2020-7 Glendale, AZ Police Department Forensics Unit Accredited 12/18/2022 - ANAB – ISO 17025 - Certificate

2020-8 Onondaga County, NY Toxicology Laboratory Accredited 4/14/23 - ANAB – ISO 17025 - Certificate

Testimonials & ADVOCACY
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Jennifer Delaney

Crime Lab Supervisor - Boise, ID Police Department

“I want to give the people in our community a peace of mind that they can trust our results…”

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Teresa Austin

Intelligence Liaison - Guarded Exchange

“ASCLD has showed the whole picture and helped me piece the puzzle of accreditation together…”

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BethAnne Layton

Quality Manager - Salt Lake City, UT Police Department

“They are available to talk via regularly scheduled conference calls or respond in a timely manner to an urgent email…”

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Matthew Gamette

House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

“ASCLD launched an aggressive mentor-based program (with NIJ/RTI/FTCOE) to offer help to laboratories seeking accreditation…”

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Matthew Gamette

Testimony for the Committee of the Judiciary

“..I encourage you to reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act to continue to provide this essential DNA resource assistance to state and local crime labs…”

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Christine Cannon-Bakeman

Criminalist

“The task of accreditation is a daunting one for small labs like ours. The resources provided by ASCLD, through the initiative, have enabled us to navigate through the accreditation process…”

About ADATF

Information about the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative

ASCLD established a Domestic Accreditation Task Force (ADATF) as a multi-lab mentoring effort to collaborate with labs that have committed, through an agreement, to pursue accreditation within 18 months. The AAI was established as a pilot to implement a task force of directors, quality managers and technical experts to mentor labs pursuing accreditation for the first time. The AAI is supported by NIJ/RTI and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence through funding, specialized training and communications.

To learn more about the ASCLD Accreditation Toolkit Initiative go here

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