Megan's Law Modernization 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 Pennsylvania State Police is designated as the sex offender registry agency for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The goal of the proposed project involves enhancing the electronic registration process of the Pennsylvania State Police Megans Law Section, with the hopes of achieving compliance with the published federal guidelines proposed under the AWA. With the help of funding, the Pennsylvania State Police will be able to update their systems and install a standardized form of communication between all police agencies, increase the number of approved registration sites and designate entire groups of law enforcement as registering officials, modify LiveScan machines to include a full palm print upgrade, and establish a new web based electronic registration system which will greatly enhance the ability to reduce the number of noncompliant offenders.

ca/ncf