Partial Standardization of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Across States: The Impact of the Adam Walsh Act on State Policy Change

• In Event: Advances in Sex Offense Policy Research: Public Policy Development

Abstract

Scholars have generally concluded the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) has failed its goal of standardizing sex offender registration and notification (SORN) nationwide. This conclusion is often tied to dichotomous outcomes for AWA based on substantial compliance with the law. Consequently, we can only conclude that AWA is a success or failure. A third outcome arises if we allow for partial compliance with AWA and, therefore, partial standardization of SORN laws across states. This study determines if and to what degree states have become more standardized in SORN since the adoption of AWA and, if so, how state-level context (e.g., political organization, structural factors) may account for these findings.

Author

• Robert Lytle, University of Arkansas at Little Rock