Office of Prosecution Services SORNA Initiative

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 State of Alabama hopes to fulfill two goals in an effort to address challenges it faces in complying with SORNA. The first goal is to develop and implement training for prosecutors, law enforcement, probation and parole, and any other criminal justice agencies responsible for SORNA implementation by developing and enhancing jurisdiction-wide SORNA programs while providing the support for coordinated interagency efforts to substantially implement SORNA. This goal will be completed by: 1)developing a training manual; 2) providing training to staff; 3) conducting bi-annual update meetings; 4)creating, maintaining, and making available a list of investigators and law enforcement officers in each county, municipality, and Indian tribes to assist in coordinating interagency efforts to implement SORNA; (5) assisting in research, answering questions, and prosecution of cases throughout the State relating to sex offender registration and notification; (6) maintaining a relationship and providing outreach to the Indian tribes through information sharing; and (7) reviewing future proposed legislation to ensure that Alabama remains SORNA complaint. A second goal of the State of Alabama is to enhance the infrastructure to assist implementation of SORNA through the submission of DNA. This goal will be completed by: (1) installation of the DNA Tracker Program together with bar code printers and fingerprint scanners in 12 additional counties across the State; (2) installation of the DNA Tracker Program in an additional 24 municipal police departments throughout the State; (3) training of prosecutors, law enforcement, probation and parole, and any other criminal justice agencies that register, monitor, or prosecute sex offenders on the use of the DNA Tracker Program; and (4) providing all counties with DNA collection kits.

ca/ncf