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Remove Federal Juvenile Sex Offender Requirements (Adam Walsh Act)
The Adam Walsh Act currently mandates that youth age 14 or older adjudicated for certain sex-based offenses in juvenile court be required to register for a period of 25 years to life with a national sex offender registry. States who fail to amend their laws to require this population of juveniles to so register, and who fail to expend their resources to enforce the new registration requirements, are subject to a 10% withholding of their The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funds.
Juveniles are different from adults, as confirmed by recent findings in adolescent brain development research. Similarly, due to their developmental capacity, youth under the age of 18 have been shown to be more amenable to treatment than adults and less likely to re-offend in the future when held accountable and treated in ways that are appropriate to their developmental stage. In addition, sex offender registrants confront a number of direct and collateral consequences, including numerous restrictions on where they can reside, work and go to school.
Recognizing these facts, CJJ recommends that the Adam Walsh Act be amended to remove the federal mandate that any youth adjudicated within the juvenile court for a sex-based offense be required to register as a sex offender on the national registry.
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