2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act

Pennsylvania has been not been fully compliant with the federal law since its passage. The immediate penalty for being non-compliant has been a reduction of Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funding allocated to state and local criminal justice entities for the provision of essential criminal justice services including but not limited to:

• Pre-trial diversion projects that reduce unnecessary prison admissions of appropriate, non-violent offenders, resulting in reduced taxpayer savings;
• Problem-solving courts such as Drug, DUI, Mental Health and Veteran’s Courts that provide judicial and team-based supervision of offenders who work to overcome their behavioral health issues and greatly reduce the likelihood of recidivism;
• Intensive supervision and effective management of offenders on probation or parole; and,
• Re-entry programming for offenders to provide education, treatment, counseling, housing and evidence-based programming to address chronic criminal involvement issues.

However, the greatest ill-effect suffered by Pennsylvania’s non-compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act is that it renders the state registration system less strict than many other states, including some of our immediate neighbors, who have come into compliance with the federal requirements or working to become compliant. This means that those states have a greater opportunity to effectively identify and manage this group of offenders and provide people with information to help keep their children and communities safe.

 
As long as Pennsylvania registration and notification system is less strict than the federal mandate, we run the risk of becoming a safe haven for these offenders who are savvy to the new laws and work to avoid detection and management so that they may continue to prey upon potential victims. Bringing Pennsylvania into compliance with the Federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act means that Pennsylvania will be as tough as our neighboring states, if not tougher, about the registration and management of this group of offenders. It means that Pennsylvania will become a part of a larger federal database of offenders, which is particularly important as offenders move from one state to another. Ultimately, it enhances the overall safety of our children and our communities.

Impact of SORNA on Pennsylvania

• The law required that all states implement SORNA requirements within 3 years, or by July 27, 2009;
• A reduction of 10 % of Bryne Justice Assistance Grant (“JAG”)funds was authorized for any state that fails to substantially implement SORNA;
• JAG annual appropriations to Pennsylvania is $million which led to a reduction in funding of $ annually;
• Some people have been concerned that non-compliance with strict federal registration requirements would result on Pennsylvania becoming a “safe haven” for sex offenders.

 
**Content Last Updated 5/14/2012**

***"This website is for informational purposes only. Should you have a question regarding a specific statute, please seek the advice of counsel for your agency."***

• The following information is required to be placed in a jurisdiction’s sex offender registry: 
• • Criminal History
  • Date of Birth
  • DNA Sample
  • Driver’s License or Identification Card
  • Employer Information
  • Fingerprints
  • Internet Identifiers
  • Name
  • Palm Prints
  • Passport and Immigration Documents
  • Phone Numbers
  • Photograph
  • Physical Description
  • Professional Licensing Information
  • Residence Information
  • School Information
  • Social Security Number
  • Temporary Lodging Information
  • Text of Registration Offense
  • Vehicle Information

• Below is a list of the types of registration information that jurisdictions must include on their public sex offender websites to satisfy the requirements for SORNA implementation. The list of informational items that jurisdictions must include on their public sex offender websites is as follows: 
  • Current Offense: The sex offense for which the offender is currently required to register and any other sex offense for which the sex offender has been convicted.
  • Employer address: The address of any place where the sex offender is an employee.
  • Name: The name of the sex offender, including any aliases.
  • Photograph: A current photograph of the offender.
  • Physical description: A physical description of the offender.
  • Resident Address: The address of the sex offender, including any information about where the offender "habitually lives".
  • School address: The address of any place where the sex offender attends school.
  • Vehicle(s) license plate number and description.
• Jurisdictions must exempt five types of information from disclosure. These exemptions only constrain jurisdictions in relation to the information made available on their publicly accessible sex offender websites. It does not limit the discretion of jurisdictions to disclose these types of information in other contexts, such as to law enforcement. The mandatory exempted four types of information are:
  • The victim’s identity,
  • The Social Security number of the sex offender,
  • Any reference to arrests of the sex offender that did not result in conviction,
  • Passport and immigration document numbers, and
  • Internet Identifiers.

• There are also four optional exemptions, which apply to information that jurisdictions have the discretion to exempt from their public websites. These are:
  • Any information about a tier I sex offender convicted of an offense other than a specified offense against a minor.
  • The name of an employer of the sex offender,
  • The name of an educational institution where the sex offender is a student,
  • Any other information which the Attorney General allows to be exempted.

**Content Last Updated 5/14/2012**

***"This website is for informational purposes only. Should you have a question regarding a specific statute, please seek the advice of counsel for your agency."***