Costs Associated with Sex Offender Laws: Federal costs where and spent on what?

May 2014:

Every so often I will dig into something and show folks what I've found; well this is one of those times. Recently I reported that the Federal Government created anew website to let the public know what is being, or has been, dolled out with respect to various federal topics: see All of the US government's spending will soon be available on one website.

A few important notes:

Note 1: This website is all about what the federal government SPENT, not what was appropriated when a law was enacted. So, if you start with "The Adam Walsh Act" and expect to get the costs of that act, state and federal, you WILL NOT get that from this website. You will get the federal monies dolled out under the "Adam Walsh Act" and nothing more. Its all about how the federal government tags the money it gives out.

Note 2: Now assume you searched for "sex offenders" and it does provide you with certain figures, I've tried, but do not expect the site to combine these numbers with Adam Walsh Act figures. The federal government tags money by the law or issue under which money is dolled out.

Note 3: Document every step you take with the website because it is easy to get kicked out to not relvant information and that is frustrating.

Next lets follow one search I did, and the results the site showed which was astonishing:

The site is USASpending.gov and I typed in the search box Sex Offenders.

On the right side of the screen under "by Type of Spending" click on GRANTS and give it a minute or so to redisplay what it finds. There are other check boxes one can explore at a later date, some not relevant to sex offenders and should be ignored, but for now chose the GRANTS.

Now below the map, on the left side, it will DETAIL who got what and the GRANT information. Very interesting. But here is where it gets more interesting, see this just below the map?

Look closely where that pic shows "Summary View" and click on it, wait a few seconds for it to redisplay what it finds. What it displays absolutely takes a researcher's breath away.

Here is what caught my eye, scroll down to Assistance Data Only, notice that the Center for Effective Public Policy received $10,828,476 click link to see who they are. This is a non profit getting money to talk about what should be done, they do not put their findings into operation, they just talk about them. And check out their "Resource Centers" many are very familiar. The point being money -millions if not billions by now- are going to places to simply talk about policy. And we wonder why the U.S. debt is in the trillions?

OK, the other information on the Fed site leads us to a whole other world of thought. Enjoy pondering and you'll never know what else you can find there, use creative thinking.

This website is a treasure trove for researchers. Unfortunately there is no "Master Topic List" that I could find so its hunt and peck time, maybe too frustrating for some. Its all about the way the federal government breaks down money it spends.

Hummm, I wonder if there is anything for the Second Chance Act?

Good luck and happy researching.