U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006

SMART Forges Partnerships to Manage Sex Offenders

people
Opening speakers at the 2019 National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability included (from left) Theresa Faris, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes; John R. Lausch Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Dawn Doran, acting SMART Office Director; Stacie B. Harris, National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, Department of Justice; and John F. Clark, President/CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

On July 27, 1981, 6-year-old Adam Walsh entered a Florida department store with his mother. He was abducted by a stranger, and his remains were found two weeks later. The tragedy of the young boy's murder—a brutal crime that was never brought to trial—shocked the nation. His devastated family and supporters channeled their grief and anger in a positive way―to protect other children from sexual...