Pennsylvania, U.S. Virgin Islands Latest Of 55 Jurisdictions To Substantially Implement Provisions Of The Adam Walsh Act

Notice the error in the title, it says 55 when it should be 54, see SMART Office (16+35+3)

9-28-2012 Washington DC:

The Justice Department's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) recently announced that Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands are the latest jurisdictions to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

Since the passage of SORNA, which establishes a comprehensive national system for the registration of sex offenders, a total of 16 states, three territories and 36 tribes have met the requirements for implementation. The Act is named in memory of Adam Walsh, a 6-year-old boy, who was abducted from a mall in Hollywood, Fla. on July 27, 1981.

In addition to Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the states of Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming, and the United States territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have also substantially implemented SORNA.

"We are encouraged by the efforts of so many jurisdictions to implement SORNA's requirements, and we commend those that have substantially implemented the Act," said Linda Baldwin, Director of the SMART Office. "We are also encouraged that the vast majority of jurisdictions are committed to exchanging information in a manner that will lead to improved monitoring and tracking of sex offenders across the United States and abroad."

States and territories had until July 27, 2011, to substantially implement SORNA. Beginning in 2012, those that did not were subject to a 10-percent reduction in their Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Byrne (JAG) award. The penalty will continue to be applied on an annual basis until a state or territory substantially implements SORNA.

"Fortunately, withheld JAG funding can be reallocated back to states and territories if these funds are applied toward SORNA implementation activities," added Director Baldwin. "In 2012, all but five jurisdictions (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nebraska, and Texas) requested reallocation of their SORNA penalty to continue SORNA implementation efforts and we are pleased to announce that we have granted all of the reallocation requests received." ...continued... by SOURCE Office of Justice Programs