DOJ Gives Tribes Over $3M in AWA Grants

The Department of Justice has announced that it has awarded more than $50 million dollars in grants to assist Native American communities. Of that award, more than $3 million are marked for the implementation of the sex offender registry and notification programs as part of the Adam Walsh Act. From the press release:

Additional funding announced today includes: [...]

More than $3 million in grants and assistance provided to tribal governments through the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Office (SMART) in support of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 to assist tribes with developing or enhancing programs designed to implement the sex offender registry and notification programs.

In addition to funding, the Department has provided a comprehensive range of technical assistance and support to Indian Country in 2008. In July, SMART hosted its second annual National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability in Baltimore. The symposium brought together lawmakers, state, local and tribal government officials; law enforcement; and frontline professionals who manage sex offenders. Scholarship funding was available to tribes that elected to implement their own sex offender notification and registration systems and wanted to attend the conference. The conference included special tracks related specifically to sex offender management in Indian Country and tribal governments.

In August, the Department's newly created Violence Against Women in Indian Country Task Force convened for the first time in Washington, D.C. The task force, composed of members of national tribal domestic violence and sexual assault organizations, tribal governments, and national tribal organizations, are assisting the National Institute of Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women in developing and implementing a program of research on violence against Indian women, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and murder. The program will evaluate the effectiveness of the federal, state, and tribal response to this violence.

Last year, ten tribal sites were selected to serve as pilot communities as part of the Department's AMBER Alert in Indian Country Initiative. The ten tribal sites serve as regional programs across the country. The Department continues to work with tribal nations to develop their own plans tailored to their specific needs so that children in Indian country may benefit from AMBER Alert.

This year the Department continued its series of consultation, training and technical assistance sessions, focusing on tribal priority issues related to public safety for families and communities. Aimed at improving law enforcement and criminal justice in Indian country, the sessions targeted issues such as tribal court systems, multi-jurisdictional coordination and communication, sexual offender registry, and other law enforcement areas.