Hawaii Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Implementation 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.

Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center is in the process of improving the State's ability to immediately share registration information and files so that they may be in compliance with SORNA. They plan on carrying out this plan by continuing to fund an office assistant and student helper positions; mailing verification forms to all registered sex offenders who are required to comply with the periodic verification provision; immediately entering information into the Sex Offender Registry, digital file, and maintaining a hard copy file of each registered offender; tracking each offender's compliance; and reporting non-complaint sex offenders to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

ca/ncf