Fort Peck Tribes AWA SMART Project

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 Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana have established the beginnings of a sex offender registry. However, in order to have success in implementing the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) under the Adam Walsh Act, the Tribes need funding. The project that has been developed includes the following goals: 1) Ensure compliance with SORNA requirements throughout the Fort Peck reservation; 2) Provide a compliance program that will ensure victim and public safety; 3) Build a sustainable sex offender registry program that will find permanent standing within the tribal jurisdiction, and will be a coordinated effort between tribal organizations and law enforcement. The Tribes will use these funds to purchase equipment that will include cameras and computers, hire two Compliance Officers, a .25FTE Roosevelt Country staff to be more effective in monitoring the registry of sex offenders, and work to sustain the project.

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