Alabama Adam Walsh Act Implementation

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) (Pub. L. 109-248, 42 U.S.C. § 16901, et seq) authorizes the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) to administer sex offender management grants. These grants assist state, local and tribal jurisdictions in developing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs that support substantial implementation of Title I of the AWA, known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SORNA was enacted to protect the public from convicted sex offenders and offenders against children by establishing a comprehensive national system for the registration of those offenders.

The goal of the State of Alabama SMART grant project is to enhance the programs that have been established to facilitate the substantial implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has identified three project areas that will enhance and facilitate the jurisdictional implementation of SORNA in Alabama. 1) Implement a records management project in ADOC to convert documents in the inactive sex offender files to a digital format making them immediately available to law enforcement agencies and other criminal justice agencies; 2) Provide administrative support to ADOC facility personnel responsible for SORNA requirements and notification, as well as provide interagency support to other jurisdictional level agencies and local law enforcement agencies responsible for SORNA implementation; 3) Enhance technical infrastructure to assist the Alabama Department of Public Safety in upgrading and maintaining the Sex Offender Application and public sex offender websites for the collection and storage of biometric data.

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