SMART FY 18 Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program | SMART 2018 5197

Opportunity Information: Apply for SMART 2018 5197

The SMART FY 18 Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office). Its purpose is to help jurisdictions build, improve, and sustain the systems they need to carry out the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), a federal law created to strengthen public safety through a more consistent nationwide approach to sex offender registration and community notification. In practical terms, the program is aimed at helping states, territories, the District of Columbia, and eligible federally recognized tribes move toward SORNA compliance or, for those already substantially implemented, keep their programs strong and close any remaining gaps.

SORNA establishes baseline national standards for what a sex offender registry must include and how it must function. It requires jurisdictions to maintain a sex offender registry and requires individuals convicted of qualifying sex offenses to register and keep their registration current in every jurisdiction where they live, work, or attend school. It also sets expectations around what information is collected and displayed, how long someone must remain registered, and how often registrants must appear in person to verify their information. Another major focus is connectivity and notification across borders, including participation in the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and processes to notify other jurisdictions when a registrant relocates, such as through information-sharing tools like the SORNA Exchange Portal. The grant program sits under the statutory authority of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.).

A central theme of the solicitation is that applicants should ground their proposed work in where they currently stand on SORNA implementation. Jurisdictions that have not yet substantially implemented SORNA are expected to explain, clearly and specifically, how the project will move them closer to implementation, using the SMART Office SORNA Substantial Implementation Review as the benchmark. Tribal jurisdictions that are not yet substantially implemented must already be engaged with the SMART Office review process (for example, having received a review, submitted materials for review, or obtained a reasonable time extension), and they must describe how the project addresses the findings or gaps identified by SMART. Jurisdictions that are already substantially implemented must describe how the project will maintain compliance over time, strengthen existing registration and notification practices, or address any remaining requirements that were not fully met in their most recent substantial implementation review.

The program encourages a wide range of project types, with an emphasis on concrete implementation work rather than abstract planning. Common examples include drafting or updating legislation, regulations, policies, and procedures that bring local practice in line with SORNA requirements, including obtaining legal support to do so. It also supports coordinated interagency work, recognizing that SORNA implementation typically involves multiple partners such as law enforcement, corrections, courts, prosecutors, probation and parole, and information technology offices. Another recurring priority is improved information sharing both within a jurisdiction and between jurisdictions, which can include system connections, data exchange processes, and operational protocols that reduce delays and inconsistencies when registrants move or when law enforcement needs timely information.

On the operational and technical side, the solicitation points to records management upgrades as an eligible and important use of funds, including the digitization of paper records so registry information is complete, accessible, and maintained in forms that meet SORNA expectations. Training is also highlighted, including safety training and job-specific instruction for staff responsible for registration, community notification, monitoring, investigating failure-to-register cases, and overall offender management. Applicants may also propose improvements to verification strategies (for example, strengthening in-person check procedures), collaboration on absconder investigations, and community education and prevention activities tied to registration, notification, or management. The grant can also support work to implement and enforce SORNA's requirement that registrants provide 21-day advance notice of international travel, which involves policy, process, and sometimes technology changes to ensure the information is collected and shared appropriately. Infrastructure enhancements tied to biometric and forensic data are also included as potential activities, such as improving how jurisdictions collect, store, submit, or analyze biometric identifiers like fingerprints and palm prints and, where applicable, DNA-related processes consistent with program guidance.

Tribal applicants receive additional tailored examples that reflect tribal governance and service delivery realities. Tribes that have substantially implemented SORNA may seek funding to create, improve, or sustain registry and notification activities, including community education initiatives that explain how the tribal program works and promote safety planning and public understanding. The solicitation also supports intra-tribal collaboration among entities like victim service programs, courts, probation, schools, and other tribal organizations, but it expects documentation showing how the collaboration will actually be carried out and how it will support the ongoing strength of the tribe's registration and notification program. Tribes may also use funding to enhance inter-jurisdictional cooperation and information-sharing infrastructure. In addition, the program recognizes that some tribes may benefit from consortium approaches, where multiple tribes share resources such as equipment, staff, office space, a shared public registry website, or joint enforcement efforts. For those consortium proposals, the application must include documentation like interagency agreements, memoranda of understanding, or letters of cooperation demonstrating commitment from each participating jurisdiction.

The solicitation also addresses the relationship between states and tribal jurisdictions located within their borders, especially in contexts involving Public Law 280 (P.L. 280) or other delegation arrangements. States may apply for funding to support the sex offender registration and notification functions of local or state units of government, or P.L. 280 tribes, when those functions relate to tribal nations for which the state has been delegated responsibility for purposes of substantial implementation of SORNA. States are encouraged to design projects that directly tackle SORNA implementation challenges connected to these tribal contexts, and they may also propose efforts to improve collaboration and information sharing with tribes, including facilitating tribal access to key national systems like the National Crime Information Center and the National Sex Offender Registry where appropriate. As with tribal consortium projects, state-tribal collaboration proposals are expected to include written documentation showing the collaborative commitment of each SORNA jurisdiction involved.

An additional compliance and coordination expectation applies to state and territory applicants that are being penalized for not substantially implementing SORNA and are eligible to receive Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) reallocation funds. These applicants must explain how the proposed SMART grant project complements, rather than duplicates, the work they plan to support with Byrne JAG reallocation funding. The key point is avoiding double funding for the same activity while still allowing jurisdictions to build a coherent overall implementation strategy across funding sources.

From a funding and logistics standpoint, this opportunity was posted under Funding Opportunity Number SMART 2018 5197, within the Law, Justice and Legal Services category (CFDA 16.750). Eligible applicants include state governments and federally recognized tribal governments, with additional eligibility nuances described in the solicitation text. The application window listed a creation date of January 22, 2018 and an original closing date of March 22, 2018. Awards were anticipated to have a ceiling of $400,000, with an expected total of about 50 awards. The SMART Office also ties project goals, objectives, and deliverables to performance measures that applicants must address in the program narrative, emphasizing measurable implementation progress and demonstrable results rather than general intentions.

• The Department of Justice, Department of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SMART FY 18 Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.750.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 22, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 22, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for SMART 2018 5197

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