Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)
Dawn Doran
Guidelines
The final guidelines for Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) were published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2008.
- The National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification - Final Guidelines, July 2008
- Supplemental Guidelines for Registration and Notification, January 11, 2011
- Federal...
Submitting Substantial Implementation Materials to the SMART Office
In order for the SMART Office to determine whether a SORNA jurisdiction has "substantially implemented" the minimum requirements of SORNA, the jurisdiction must submit an implementation package to the SMART Office for review. The SMART Office Senior Policy Advisor assigned to the review must be able to contact a designee from the jurisdiction who can answer questions, complete omissions and make corrections to the submission...
Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative
Perpetrators of sex crimes are often seen as needing special management practices. As a result, jurisdictions across the country have implemented laws and policies that focus specifically on sex offenders, often with extensive public support. At the same time, the criminal justice community has increasingly recognized that crime control and prevention strategies—including those targeting sex offenders—are far more likely to work when they are based on scientific evidence.
Recognizing the important role scientific evidence plays, the SMART Office developed the Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative (SOMAPI), a project designed to assess the state of research and practice in sex offender management. Recommendations stemming from SOMAPI informed this report.
Programs
The Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program supports implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SORNA helps jurisdictions create and sustain comprehensive programs to consistently register, monitor and notify communities about sex offenders.
Prior to SORNA's enactment, there were inconsistencies among registration and notification laws, programs and policies within states and territories, and altogether lacking in Indian Country. These inconsistencies and safe...