Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2012, $302,905)
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 main challenges for the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) Sex Offender Management Program are: (1) collecting the data needed for prosecution, such as forensic DNA samples, (2) cross-referencing sex offender case materials by jurisdiction; and (3) developing a QIN Sex Offender Registry appropriate with other existing registries used by Native American tribes. To address these challenges, the tribe requires additional personnel trained with the technical expertise to maintain the database. Using these grant funds, the tribe will receive training in forensic methodology and Spillman software needed for DNA collection and access to criminal history for convicted sex offenders; perform on-site visits with three established tribes implementing sex offender registries; set-up a monitoring system; and enhance current program functions. Also, the tribe will use funding to hire full-time personnel dedicated to implementing the project by properly tracking sexual predators and organizing collected data to maintain SORNA compliance.
ca/ncf