SMART FY 2010 Support For Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program

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 Blackfeet Tribe Department of Safety has elected to implement SORNA. This grant will support the Tribes effort to establish an on-going sex offender registration program for the reservation that meets national standards. This will be accomplished through the hiring of a full-time staff member along with a support consultant, acquiring necessary equipment and software that will enable the Department to interface electronically with other jurisdictions, and implementing community workshops that will educate the local community on the purpose of the program and how it will benefit them.

ca/ncf