FY12 SORNA

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 New Jersey is working towards substantial and effective compliance of SORNA requirements. The development of a SORNA substantial implementation plan is under the New Jersey State Police. The State has determined that it is necessary to enact legislation that would substantially place New Jersey in compliance with SORNA, while simultaneously working towards the creation of a more streamlined, efficient, automated process. SORNA compliance requirements that New Jersey plans to accomplish through this grant are: (1) automated publication of all offenders convicted in New Jersey of a SORNA predicate offense; (2) automated tiering based upon the offender's conviction of a SORNA predicate offense; (3) automated collection and publication of offender fingerprints, palm prints, and mug photo; (5) automated publication of offender DNA information; (6) ability to collect and verify all SORNA required information on an offender; and (7) automated offender address verification.

ca/ncf