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Jurisdictions that have substantially implemented SORNA
40 jurisdictions (15 states, 23 tribes and two territories) have substantially implemented SORNA's requirements.
FY 2011 Awards
The SMART Office recently announced more than $11 million in Fiscal Year 2011 grant assistance for state, local, and tribal governments for use in implementing, training, and maintaining and enhancing sex offender programming throughout the United States. These grants break down into multiple areas of funding: Adam Walsh Act (Title I) implementation, Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management (CASOM) support, SORNA Tribal Training and Technical Assistance support, and Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) operation. For more information, visit our Funding Opportunities page.
Procedure for Delegation of Tribal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Responsibilities
This document describes the procedure that will be used when the SMART Office determines that a tribe is unable to implement SORNA within a reasonable amount of time.
Guidance for Tribes: Applying for Additional Time to Implement SORNA
If a tribal jurisdiction will not be able to substantially implement SORNA by the July 27, 2011 deadline, but will be able to do so within a reasonable amount of time after the deadline, the tribe must submit a request containing the information described in this document.
SORNA Implementation Documents
The SMART Office has released two additional SORNA Implementation Documents on the topics of Community Notification for Juveniles Adjudicated Delinquent of a Sex Offense and Information Required for Notice of International Travel.
Request for Reallocation of Byrne/JAG Grant Funds
If it is determined that a jurisdiction did not substantially implement SORNA by July 27, 2011, a reduction of 10% of the jurisdiction's Byrne/JAG funding will be imposed when the FY 2012 awards are made. For any jurisdiction that has been penalized and wishes to reacquire its funds to dedicate solely towards SORNA implementation, that jurisdiction must make such a request in writing using this form to the SMART Office.
SMART Watch Spring Issue
The Spring 2011 issue of SMART Watch highlights new supplemental guidelines and a revised implementation checklist, measuring implementation costs, submitting implementation packets, failing to substantially implement SORNA, tracking offenders leaving and entering the country, and the 2011 National Workshop.
Revised Model Tribal Sex Offender Registration Code
The SMART Office recently updated the SORNA Model Tribal Code to reflect the changes in federal law that came about with the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act.
International Tracking of Sex Offenders
When the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was enacted and its Final Guidelines were published, the U.S. Department of Justice was tasked with creating a tracking system for sex offenders who depart and reenter the United States. To that end, the SMART Office created the International Tracking of Sex Offenders Working Group in 2008, which has been working to enable appropriate information sharing about sex offenders who either intend to travel or are travelling internationally. This proposed system is outlined in a white paper made available to Congress in December 2010.
Supplemental Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification
On January 11, 2011, the Department of Justice released supplemental guidelines for SORNA. The SORNA Supplemental Guidelines address, among other things, public notification of juveniles adjudicated delinquent for serious sex crimes, the posting of sex offender information, such as email addresses and other Internet identifiers, and reporting of international travel requirements. Other issues addressed in the Supplemental Guidelines include on-going review of SORNA implementation, the sharing of information across jurisdictions, and the application of SORNA to newly federally-recognized Indian tribes. The final Supplemental Guidelines can be found here.
SORNA Retroactive Rule Finalized
The Department of Justice finalized an interim rule specifying that the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, title I of Public Law 109-248, apply to all sex offenders, including sex offenders convicted of the offense for which registration is required before the enactment of that Act. The final rule can be found here.
SORNA Extensions Granted
As of July 27, 2010, 237 registration jurisdictions have requested and received extensions until July 27, 2011, to substantially implement SORNA. This number includes the 47 states that have not yet implemented SORNA, the District of Columbia, 5 principal U.S. territories, and 184 Indian tribes.
