Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2017, $212,973)
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) (42 U.S.C. § 16909, et seq.; Pub. L. 113-235, 128 Stat. 2130, 2193) authorizes the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) to administer sex offender management grants. These grants assist states, the District of Columbia, U.S. principal territories 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.
Although Kentucky continues to face challenges in the areas of legislation, sex offender supervision and registration requirements, agency policy revisions, and necessary improvements in technology, they continue to work towards improvements identified in the SORNA Substantial Implementation Review.
Kentucky plans to use the SMART FY2017 AWA grant funds to hire personnel, specifically probation and parole officers. These officers are assigned to Department of Corrections (DOC) specialized sex offender unit in Louisville, Kentucky, to monitor offenders in the States largest county. Due to an increased sex offender caseload, the DOC will add an additional Probation and Parole Officer position in the targeted area. DOC also plans to use the FY 2017 AWA grant funds to procure electronic signature pads. They plan to continue data collection and reporting improvements to its Kentucky Offender Management System (KOMS) and to ensure accurate and timely reporting of sex offender data internally and externally to partner agencies (e.g., Kentucky State Police). ca/ncf