The state is getting closer to rolling out a system that will allow sexual assault victims to track what happens to their forensic exam kits.
A 2017 review found about 2,500 rape kits in Indiana were untested for unknown reasons. That sparked legislative action, and lawmakers tasked the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute with developing a program that allows victims to keep track of their kits.
The Institute is modeling it after an electronic claim system it already has in place.
Executive Director Devon McDonald says new sexual assault kits contain a barcode, and victims will be able to access information about their kits online.
"The individuals themselves will be provided with a specific identification number and claim number that’s not publicly available," he says. "The system itself will reside in a pretty highly protected technology environment."
McDonald says they're using about $350,000 of existing federal funding to pay for implementation costs. He doesn't have a set date for when the online system will go live, but says it will be soon.
"It’s near completion," McDonald says. "We’re doing some final steps now in development and testing. So it should be implemented this fall, well before the end of the year."