State Response

State-level rape kit reform is where Joyful Heart focuses most of its resources and energy because it is where there is the highest potential for change. While the federal government can support the states with resources such as SAKI, states must pass laws that improve the handling of kits and grant victims’ rights. Since the first law in 2002, more than 45 states have passed over 150 bills related to Joyful Heart’s six pillars of legislative reform.

Statewide Inventories

The majority of states have taken the first step toward addressing their backlogs by requiring law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and forensic labs to conduct an inventory of untested rape kits in their custody. For example, the Missouri attorney general recently wrote about the state’s comprehensive rape kit inventory for our blog.

Test Backlogged Kits

More than half of the states in our nation have committed to testing their backlogged kits. The majority of states that are testing previously untested kits are doing so through non-legislative action. That is, through an executive order by a governor, or through a directive by an attorney general. However, there are states, like Colorado and Texas, that have passed laws calling for the mandatory testing of backlogged kits.

Test New Kits

To ensure the backlog never happens again, states such as Connecticut, Kentucky, and Michigan have enacted laws that require law enforcement to submit rape kits to labs for testing within certain time frames.

Implement Tracking System

The first rape kit tracking law was implemented in Michigan in 2014. Since then, more than 30 states have either implemented or are in the process of implementing rape kit tracking systems.

Victim’s Right To Know

Over 25 states have passed laws that grant victims the right to know the status and location of their kits. Massachusetts, Hawai’i, and New York are among the states with the most comprehensive statutes.

Fund Reform

This work takes political will, but it also takes significant resources. Implementation of these reforms often depends on whether law enforcement, crime labs, and prosecutors receive funding to carry out rape kit reform. State legislatures must allocate public funds to help implement these pillars, with an emphasis on testing backlogged and future kits.

Non-Legislative Reform

Aside from state legislatures passing laws, there are also governors, mayors, attorneys general, and state auditors who are investigating backlogs and pressing for rape kit reform. For example, in Ohio, Attorney General Mike DeWine implemented a statewide initiative in 2011 requesting that all law enforcement agencies clear their backlogs. All of the nearly 14,000 kits identified have since been tested. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office uncovered 5,424 untested kits in 2018. In Kentucky, the state auditor directed a statewide audit of untested kits. State auditors in Pennsylvania and New Mexico have followed suit.

Click on our interactive backlog map to get the latest information on each state’s progress.