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New Supplemental Guidelines and Checklist

On January 11, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice released supplemental guidelines for the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The SORNA supplemental guidelines address, among other things, public notification of juveniles who are adjudicated delinquent for serious sex crimes; posting of sex offender information, such as email addresses and other Internet identifiers; and reporting of international travel requirements. Other issues addressed include ongoing review of SORNA implementation, the sharing of information across jurisdictions, and the application of SORNA to Indian tribes newly recognized by the federal government.

New Substantial Implementation Checklist

The latest version of the SORNA Checklist makes substantive changes to the previous version with changes authorized by the supplemental guidelines, including the following:

  • Jurisdictions are required to have sex offenders report international travel 21 days in advance of such travel and to submit information concerning such travel to the appropriate federal agencies and databases.

  • Jurisdictions are required to use the SORNA Exchange Portal to ensure consistent interjurisdictional information sharing and tracking of sex offenders.

  • Jurisdictions must now include the forms signed by sex offenders acknowledging that they were advised, as required, of their registration obligations.

  • Jurisdictions are now permitted to register only those individuals who reenter the jurisdiction's criminal justice system because of a conviction for a felony crime (whether or not it is a sex offense).

The SORNA checklist is organized into 14 sections, covering the major requirements of the Act. Each section contains a table listing the SORNA requirement with space to answer whether the jurisdiction meets that requirement (yes/no), the relevant statute citation and/or the relevant administrative policy or procedure page number, and a "notes" space to further elaborate or explain the jurisdiction's approach to the corresponding requirement.


Contents
  • New Supplemental Guidelines and Checklist
    On January 11, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice released supplemental guidelines . .  arrow More
  • Measuring Implementation Costs
    As the final implementation deadline for SORNA approaches,  . . .  arrow More
  • Submitting Substantial Implementation Packets
    As the final statutory deadline of July 27, 2011, approaches, jurisdictions must submit formal requests to the SMART Office . .  arrow More
  • Failure To Implement SORNA
    States and territories (and the District of Columbia) that fail to substantially implement SORNA by the July 27, 2011, deadline face a 10-percent annual reduction . . .  arrow More
  • Tracking Offenders Departing and Entering the Country
    When SORNA was enacted, the U.S. Department of Justice was tasked with creating a tracking system for sex offenders . . .  arrow More
  • 2011 National Workshop
    The SMART Office held its 2011 National Workshop on SORNA in the District of Columbia, January 10–11.  . . .  arrow More
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