SMART FY26 Support for Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program
Supports state government entities developing or enhancing systems and programs to implement SORNA sex offender registration and notification requirements.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV
⚑ Eligible applicants are limited to state government entities only; universities are not eligible to apply directly. · Program focus is implementation/adminstration of sex offender registry and notification systems, not research. · Award ceiling is $400,000. · Closes 2026-11-25.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 10 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
General Purpose of the Funding: The Adam Walsh Act (AWA) Implementation Grant Program assists jurisdictions with developing and enhancing programs designed to implement SORNA. SORNA was enacted to provide a set of comprehensive standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States. “Jurisdiction” is defined in SORNA as any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the principal U.S. territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes — to the extent provided by 34 U.S.C. § 20911(10) — that have elected to implement SORNA.
SORNA requires all states, the District of Columbia, the principal U.S. territories, and participating federally recognized Indian tribes to maintain a sex offender registry and sex offenders to register and maintain a current registration in each jurisdiction where the individual lives, works, or goes to school. SORNA also sets forth requirements regarding what jurisdictions must include in their sex offender registries, what information sex offenders and sex offender registries must provide, requires jurisdictions to participate in the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW.gov) and exchange interjurisdictional information, and offenders must provide advance notice when traveling internationally. For more information about SORNA’s requirements, applicants should review the National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification, the Supplemental Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification, the Supplemental Guidelines for Juvenile Registration Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and Attorney General Rules. These, and other guidance documents, are available on the SMART Office website (SMART.gov).
Applicants should refer to the Application Contents and Format section, Budget and Associated Information subsection for information on allowable and unallowable costs that may inform the development of their project design.
Eligibility
State Government Entities: For the purposes of this NOFO, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: SMART <AskSMART@usdoj.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.