Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2011, $393,942)
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.
As the Arizona Legislature continues to evaluate the states implementation of SORNA requirements, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) has begun advance planning for implementation within its own agency. ADC intends to become compliant with SORNA requirements even before the State of Arizona becomes compliant so that ADC will transition more easily if the state implements new SORNA-related systems. ADC hopes to enhance and facilitate jurisdictional implementation of SORNA by enhancing the infrastructure within ADC in two ways. ADC will purchase and install new Livescan fingerprint equipment that will accommodate SORNA-required palm prints, ten-print fingerprints, and slap fingerprints, and ADC will also purchase and install new, up-to-date biometric offender identification card printers. After purchase and installation, ADC will then distribute this new Livescan equipment to the ten state-owned prison locations, and the equipment vendor will train staff members to use this new equipment and to obtain palm prints. In addition, biometric offender identification card printers will be deployed in seven prison locations where the greatest need exists due to greater concentrations of incarcerated sex offenders or current printer condition. ca/ncf