Entrepreneurship Grant Award

Trinity DNA Solutions

Trinity DNA Solutions received a $70,000 Entrepreneurship Grant matched by an equal investment. Founded in 2004, Trinity DNA is housed in a 6,000-square-foot facility in Milton. The modern laboratory boasts the latest technologies in testing equipment and is one of only 12 accredited private forensic labs in the country. Trinity DNA is accredited by Forensic Quality Services–International as ISO 17025. This accreditation allows the lab to consult and process cases both in the U.S. and around the world as well as to upload test results to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
 
Trinity DNA provides testing to law enforcement agencies, legal professionals and the general public. Services offered for criminal cases include general serology, extracted DNA, forensic DNA, blood or semen detection, criminal paternity, expert witness testimony, case consultation and case file review. “Most local and state laboratories have case backlogs for forensic DNA testing, delaying test results for a year or more,” says Trinity DNA President Candy Zuleger. “We provide clients with results in 30 days or less and just 10 days or less for rush cases.”

Services offered to the general public include paternity testing and DNA kits. Trinity DNA typically provides paternity results within five business days and results are 99.999% accurate. Paternity tests can be helpful for a variety of personal and legal reasons such as child support, custody, adoption, citizenship and immigration, inheritance and peace of mind.

The DNA kits are part of Trinity DNA’s Child O’Mine program. This program, launched with the help of the grant funding, offers parents the means to collect DNA and other information about their children that is useful in the unfortunate event of an abduction. “Should the unthinkable happen, this information can make a difference,” Zuleger explains. Labs often only have a child’s personal items such as a toothbrush or hairbrush to work with in these cases. The kits provide law enforcement professionals with an uncontaminated sample. Since Trinity DNA is accredited, the child’s information can be uploaded into state and national databases for missing persons.

Trinity DNA maintains its accreditation with extensive training for new employees. New technicians are required to complete six months of training before they can issue a case on their own. With assistance from Workforce Escarosa, the regional workforce development board, Trinity DNA plans to continue hiring and training local talent.

Strategically located in Northwest Florida, Trinity DNA is well-positioned to service clients in the southeastern U.S. Trinity DNA is already bringing new revenues into the region with clients across the country and around the world.