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Enhancement and Centralization of the State of Rhode Island's Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification System

Award Information

Award #
2010-AW-BX-0022
Location
Congressional District
Status
Closed
Funding First Awarded
2010
Total funding (to date)
$203,060

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $203,060)

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) (Pub. L. 109-248, 42 U.S.C. § 16901, et seq) authorizes the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) to administer sex offender management grants. These grants assist state, local and tribal jurisdictions in developing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs that support substantial implementation of Title I of the AWA, known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SORNA was enacted to protect the public from convicted sex offenders and offenders against children by establishing a comprehensive national system for the registration of those offenders.

The Rhode Island Sex Offender Community Notification Unit, as well as its website, is currently in the process of transferring from the Rhode Island Parole Board to the Rhode Island State Police in order to more effectively implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In order to comply with SORNA, the Rhode Island Sex Offender Community Notification Unit will use the funding from this grant to pay staff members overtime for the time they will spend working to clean up and update the sex offender registry as well as update the computer technology. They will also hire a computer consultant to bring the website into further compliance with SORNA. The Rhode Island Sex Offender Community Notification Unit will also help to centralize the process for registration, verification and maintenance of information on sex offenders, as well as notification of the community about these offenders. The funding will also go towards paying the cost of compensation for instructors who will supply training to officials on how to retrieve information from the Sex Offender Registry once it has been cleaned and improved.

ca/ncf

Date Created: August 18, 2010