After initially announcing on Friday they would cease to manage NamUs, the UNT Health Science Center's UNT Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) has backtracked. On the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 8, UNTCHI accepted the $4.3 million award to continue to manage the missing persons program.
“NIJ can continue the online system service without UNT, but would prefer to maintain the relationship in order to address the existing backlog of casework and much needed attention to tribal communities. UNT recently accepted the award (evening of Tuesday, Dec. 8) and NIJ is looking forward to the continued partnership,” an NIJ spokesperson told Forensic Wednesday afternoon EDT.
NamUs is a wholly owned asset of the U.S. Department of Justice, but UNTCHI has managed the program since 2011. Currently, NamUs database and search services are operationally located within the Office of Justice Programs, but UNTCHI supports most of the forensic work, including DNA typing, fingerprint examination, forensic odontology and forensic anthropology.
In October 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded a total of $192 million to U.S. states to advance forensic science. The grant package included $4,288,461 to UNTHCI specifically to support the management of NamUs. It wasn’t until Tuesday night that UNTCHI accepted that award.
The FY 2021 $4.3 million budget is an increase of more than $2 million from the year prior. Since UNTCHI began managing NamUs in 2011, the initial DOJ grant typically hovers in the $2.0 to $2.5 million range. Over the years, however, NIJ has provided millions in funding each year from other sources, including the “DNA and Other Forensic Activities” appropriation and the “Violence Against Women” program.
Almost the end
On every fact sheet, promotional flyer and informational poster authored by NamUs, there is a line at the bottom in small font that reads, “NamUs is managed through a cooperative agreement with the UNT Health Science Center's UNT Center for Human Identification.” Over the weekend and into the early part of this week, it appeared that cooperation was no longer as the UNT Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) announced Friday it would cease to manage NamUs beginning Jan. 1, 2021 “due to funding limitations and significant program modifications directed by the National Institute of Justice.”
The statement caused some panic in the forensic and law enforcement communities with speculation on the future of the invaluable program. For their part, NIJ addressed the situation quickly, releasing a statement to Forensic that said they remain “committed to NamUs as a vital tool for investigators and the loved ones of the missing across this country, and [are] expediting funding vehicle options that will ensure NamUs services are provided by the best means possible.”
When pressed by Forensic regarding if they were considering different organizations, universities or centers to manage the program, a spokeperson did not answer. However, on Wednesday, NIJ explained the situation that occurred over the weekend and revealed UNT had accepted the award, seemingly putting everything back into place.
"The University of North Texas, without authorization from NIJ, used a UNT website, email, and social media to publish communications indicating that NIJ is discontinuing the NamUs program. NIJ has no intention of discontinuing the NamUs program and is messaging accordingly,” NIJ said.
The federal agency said it was prepared to work with UNT to ensure the completion of any outstanding forensic casework if they chose to walk away from the award. That turned out to be unnecessary as UNT did indeed accept the $4.3 million award to continue the management of NamUs late Tuesday night.