Indiana AWA enhancement

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 Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Management Initiative will use a comprehensive approach as the method to address the problems that exist with the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry. This comprehensive approach will address issues related to sex offender management, public awareness and communications, and information sharing. Under this proposal, Indiana Department of Correction will provide technological advancements to the functions of the sex offender registration program in the State of Indiana by implementing active contact, booking alert, SMART phone verification services, web-based information updates by offenders and LexisNexis verification of offender data with current sex offender management software.

ca/ncf