SMART FY 2013 SORNA Tribal Training & Technical Assistance Program

The Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) has responsibility for providing jurisdictions with guidance regarding implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Title I of the Adam Walsh Act (42 U.S.C. § 16909, et seq.; Pub. L. No. 113-235, 128 Stat. 2130, 2193). In particular, the SMART Office is tasked with administering national standards regarding SORNA and providing training and technical assistance to the states, the District of Columbia, territories, and certain federally recognized tribal jurisdictions to assist with the implementation of SORNA.

The National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College (NCJTC) has been working with the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office) since fiscal year 2008 to develop and deliver training and technical assistance (TTA) to states and tribes. NCJTC’s various projects with the SMART Office focus on comprehensive approaches and substantial implementation for registering and monitoring sex offenders. These projects follow the provisions of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In most recent years TTA services addressed sex offender management, in particularly, juvenile and adult sex offender treatment programs and tools. As a result of such efforts, NCJTC in partnership with the SMART Office, developed the Native American Sex Offender Management (NASOM) Project. This Project aims to identify and develop evidence-based and best practice resources for the treatment, management, and reentry of Native American adults and juveniles who committed sexual offenses.

The FY15 SORNA Tribal TTA Program will allow for the continuation of the NASOM Project to further deliver the goals of this project to identify programs and/or tools used in juvenile and adult sex offender treatment and management services for Native American sex offenders; identify sex offender management experts in tribal communities or experts who provide services in Indian country; and gather these experts for an Indian Country forum in order to develop recommendations for future SMART office activities related to sex offender management in Indian country. The FY15 SORNA Tribal TTA Program will rely on identified subject matter experts/consultants in cooperation with the SMART Office to implement case studies in four (4) diverse tribal communities to focus on specific sex offender treatment, management, and re-entry models using model programs identified in literature reviews as well as recommendations from the forum of experts held in the fall of 2014. The Program will also include a detailed analysis on successes and promising practices observed from the 4 case study sites and further recommendations to the SMART Office to enhance their services to Indian country. Finally, the FY15 SORNA Tribal TTA Program, will provide for specialized training and technical assistance based on request and/or identified need to implement and sustain the provisions of SORNA. Relying again on subject matter experts/consultants as well as long established NCJTC Partners, these deliverables will be carried out in collaboration with SMART Office staff. nca/ncf