AUSTIN — Texas residents donated more than $560,000 over the last year to end the state’s staggering backlog of an estimated 15,000 untested rape kits.

But now that it’s time to put the dollars to use, the state can’t find enough agencies to take the money.

Last year, freshman state Rep. Victoria Neave, a Dallas Democrat, made a splash with her bipartisan legislation allowing people to donate a dollar or more to the cause when they applied for or renewed their driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.

In October, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office opened the window for cities and counties to apply for a share of the money raised to clear rape kits. The application window closed Dec. 11, and there was a single applicant: Harris County, which asked for $104,000.

Because of the lack of responses, the application period will reopen sometime next year, said John Wittman, Abbott’s spokesman.

Wittman said the lack of applicants suggests that labs and law enforcement need more than short-term dollars to chip away at the backlog.

“It’s a tough situation for a lot of these labs. They just don’t have the capacity to do it,” he said.

Neave echoed the sentiment, saying the response reinforces the need for Texas to provide a constant revenue stream that crime labs and law enforcement officials can count on to prevent the kits from stacking up.

“We need to get the message out that the funds are out there, and we need to look for a long-term solution,” she said. “There aren’t enough forensic scientists. There aren’t enough lab techs that are trained to do this.”

In Dallas, where the police department has a backlog of at least 1,163 rape kits, Assistant District Attorney Amy Derrick said her office was aware of the state’s grant program but did not apply.

“Our issue has never been the money but instead finding a lab with the capacity to take on the forensic testing,” said Derrick, who runs the sexual assault and human trafficking unit.

Derrick said that Dallas officials also didn’t apply because they receive federal grants, but that they will consider it when current grants are exhausted.

Neave said the more than 200,000 Texans who donated to the rape kit backlog fund shouldn’t be discouraged. She promised the dollars would be put to use.

“We know there is a need to get these rape kits tested,” she said. “We’re going to be working with the governor’s office to make sure the dollars are utilized.”

Abbott has called clearing the rape kit backlog an administrative priority and will ask for $14 million in state revenue to be allocated toward clearing the tests over the next biennium.

“Law enforcement agencies utilize a variety of state and federal grants to pay for testing,” Abbott outlined in a public safety plan released earlier this year. “When these grants are no longer available, kits go untested and backlogs are created. To address the continued backlog issue, a stable funding source must be guaranteed.”

Earlier this year, he allocated $1 million to the University of North Texas Forensic Services Unit to process rape kits.

Next steps

Neave said she plans to continue her work on victims' issues. In the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 8, she plans to file more bills that fight for justice for victims of sexual violence and address issues like workplace sexual harassment and campus sexual assault.

She said the state needs more money for technology and equipment for forensic labs, as well as nurses trained to work with sexual assault victims.

Neave also said she is looking at the reporting requirements of local governments to ensure that the state has an accurate picture of the number of untested rape kits. And she wants to seek a requirement that rape kits be tested no more than 90 days after they are collected.

One of the bills she’s already filed is similar to one from Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat. It would require higher-education institutions to note on transcripts if a student is expelled or suspended because of sexual assault.

She said the overwhelming response from donors contributing to the rape kit backlog fund confirms that the issues are a high priority for Texans.

“Every single dollar that has been contributed from Texans all across the country, shows people care about this issue,” she said. “Our Legislature, I’m hopeful, will help us take this a step further.”