SMART FY 17 Support for Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program | SMART 2017 4840

Opportunity Information: Apply for SMART 2017 4840

The SMART FY 17 Support for Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program is a U.S. Department of Justice discretionary grant run by the SMART Office (Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking). Its purpose is to help jurisdictions build, improve, and sustain the policies, systems, and day-to-day practices needed to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.). SORNA was created to protect the public by setting nationwide baseline standards for sex offender registration and notification, with the goal of making information more consistent and shareable across jurisdictions and improving public safety outcomes.

The opportunity is aimed at jurisdictions as defined in the SORNA national guidelines: U.S. states, the District of Columbia, principal U.S. territories, and federally recognized tribes (to the extent provided under SORNA section 127). Eligible applicants therefore include state governments and federally recognized tribal governments, with other eligibility details addressed in the solicitation. Funding comes from Adam Walsh Act authorities, and the program is designed to move jurisdictions closer to SORNA compliance or to strengthen ongoing compliance for those already deemed substantially implemented. In the FY17 round referenced here, the award ceiling is $400,000, with an expected 60 awards. The solicitation was posted March 23, 2017, with a closing date of May 23, 2017, under funding opportunity number SMART 2017 4840 (CFDA 16.750).

At a practical level, the grant supports work tied directly to SORNA requirements. SORNA requires each covered jurisdiction to maintain a sex offender registry and requires offenders to register and keep their registration current in every jurisdiction where they live, work, or attend school. It also sets standards for what registries must contain, how long offenders must remain registered, and how in-person verification is handled. Beyond the registry itself, SORNA emphasizes participation in the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and use of the SORNA Exchange Portal, both of which are intended to strengthen information sharing and public access where appropriate.

The SMART Office signals that it is most interested in proposals that facilitate, enhance, and maintain SORNA implementation. What an applicant must show depends on its current SORNA status. States and territories that have not yet substantially implemented SORNA generally must have already received a SORNA Substantial Implementation Report from the SMART Office (or at least submitted materials for review) and must explain how the proposed project addresses gaps identified through that review and moves the jurisdiction measurably closer to implementation. Tribal jurisdictions that have not substantially implemented SORNA face a similar expectation: they must have a Substantial Implementation Report, have submitted materials for review, or have obtained a reasonable time extension from the SMART Office, and they must connect proposed activities to the findings or needs identified through the SMART review process.

For jurisdictions still working toward substantial implementation, the solicitation also expects a structured approach to planning and coordination. Applicants are asked to describe their SORNA implementation working group, including who is on it, what roles and responsibilities each member holds, and what the group plans to accomplish during the grant period. This is not just a planning formality; successful grantees are expected to submit semi-annual progress reports that include updates on working group meetings and progress against the implementation plan. Jurisdictions already found to have substantially implemented SORNA do not have to meet the working group reporting requirement in the same way, but they must still show how proposed activities will support continued compliance or enhance registration and notification operations.

The solicitation provides a broad menu of allowable strategies and project types. Common examples include drafting or updating legislation, regulations, and administrative materials (including policies, procedures, and legal support) needed to align with SORNA. It also supports coordinated interagency work, recognizing that successful registration and notification systems usually involve multiple players such as law enforcement, courts, corrections, probation, information technology units, and public safety agencies. Funding can be used to improve information sharing within a jurisdiction and across jurisdictional boundaries, which is central to reducing gaps when offenders move, travel, work, or attend school in different places. The program also supports records management modernization, such as converting paper files to digital formats and improving the underlying data quality needed to meet SORNA standards.

Training is another emphasized category. Applicants may propose developing and delivering training, including safety training, for the personnel responsible for registration, notification, monitoring, and offender management. The solicitation also highlights operational improvements such as stronger verification strategies, collaboration on absconder investigations, and community education and prevention efforts related to registration and notification. Finally, jurisdictions may invest in infrastructure that supports biometric and forensic elements referenced in SORNA implementation work, including systems and processes for collecting, storing, submitting, or analyzing biometric data like fingerprints and palm prints, and DNA-related capacity where applicable and allowable under the program rules.

The solicitation includes several points that are especially relevant to tribes and to states that interact with tribal jurisdictions. Tribes that have elected to carry out SORNA are encouraged to apply not only individually, but also as part of a consortium model where multiple tribes share resources and services. This can include shared hardware, digital fingerprint equipment, kiosks, joint staffing, shared registry office space, shared public registry websites, and cooperative enforcement or registration-related facilities. A consortium approach must be backed by documentation showing real commitments among the participating jurisdictions, such as interagency agreements, memoranda of understanding, or letters of cooperation. Tribes already found to have substantially implemented SORNA can also seek funding to sustain or deepen their programs, including community education that explains the tribe's registration and notification approach, treatment and supervision strategies, safety planning, and accurate information about sexual offending. They can also fund intra-tribal collaborations with victim services, courts, probation, schools, and other entities, again supported by documentation explaining how the collaboration will operate and how it will strengthen and sustain the tribe's program. Additionally, substantially implemented tribes may propose projects that improve inter-jurisdictional cooperation and information-sharing infrastructure.

States with tribal jurisdictions inside their borders have distinct eligible pathways as well. States may apply to support local or state units of government, or Public Law 280 tribes, to develop or enhance registration and notification functions where the state has been delegated responsibilities connected to substantial implementation of SORNA. The solicitation encourages states with P.L. 280 tribes to design projects that directly address implementation issues affecting those tribal communities. States that have Tribal SORNA Jurisdictions within their borders may also apply for projects that improve collaboration with SORNA tribes, including enhancements that support information sharing and tribal access to systems such as NCIC/NSOR, when applicable. As with tribal consortia, collaborative state-tribal projects need supporting documents (MOUs, agreements, letters of cooperation) showing each participating jurisdiction is committed to the work.

Finally, the solicitation flags an important coordination requirement for states and territories that are eligible to receive Byrne/JAG reallocation funding tied to SORNA. Those applicants are expected to explain how their proposed SMART project complements the work they plan to do with reallocation funds, and they must avoid duplicating funding for the same activities. In other words, the application should show that tasks are distinct or intentionally complementary, with clear boundaries so the federal government is not paying twice for the same deliverables. The goals, objectives, and deliverables described in the application are expected to align with performance measures outlined in the solicitation's application section, and applicants should be prepared to report progress in a way that matches those measures.

• The Department of Justice, Department of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SMART FY 17 Support for 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 Mar 23, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 23, 2017. (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 60 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 2017 4840

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: