Substantial Implementation (SORNA)

For the past 10 years, the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) has been at the forefront of implementing effective practices to register and manage sex offenders.

This summer, we'll be recognizing the 10th anniversary of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. This legislation, named after the 6-year-old boy whose senseless murder led to increased public...

It's been a decade since the passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, enacted in memory of the 6-year-old boy whose brutal murder brought national attention to the dangers posed by child predators and other violent offenders.

We've come a long way over those 10 years in meeting the complex challenges of sex offender management and building a comprehensive...

The SMART Office has received and reviewed a tremendous amount of information and material from the States, territories, and the District of Columbia about their progress toward substantial implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 42 U.S.C. § 16925(a) (Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006). To date, the SMART Office has received and reviewed full...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that jurisdictions share information within their jurisdictions as well as with other registration jurisdictions (see 34 U.S.C. § 20913 (c) and 34 U.S.C. § 20923 (b) (3)). Because of the unique nature of criminal justice coordination between states and tribes, collaboration is encouraged...

34 U.S.C. § 20927(a) sets forth a penalty for jurisdictions that fail to substantially implement Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA):

For any fiscal year after the end of the period for implementation, a jurisdiction that fails, as determined by the Attorney General, to substantially implement this title shall not...

The Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) recently held its 2014 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Workshops Jan. 22-23 and Feb. 25-26, at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C.

"Our primary mission is to help our state, tribal, and territorial partners meet their responsibilities for registering, tracking and notifying communities about sex offenders," said Acting...

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
  • PDF Version of Final Guidelines
• Supplemental Guidelines for Registration and Notification, January 11, 2011
• Federal...

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...