Alaska DPS gets $87,079 federal grant for one upgrade to its new sex offender registry

The Alaska Department of Public Safety has an $87,079 federal grant to upgrade the sex offender registry system it launched in January and to lease a mailing machine. The U.S. Department of Justice obligated the money Oct. 16, according to the federal award record.

The department has named two priority upgrades. The first would automatically mark registrants as noncompliant when their registration dates expire. The second would improve search on the public registry website. The department expects the money to cover only one of the two, depending on final vendor quotes, the award record says.

The department says the changes are meant to streamline workflows, make staff more efficient, improve record accuracy and make sure registration status notices go out on time.

The lease covers a folder inserter, a machine that prints and stuffs courtesy reminders and other notices into envelopes for registrants.

The state replaced its registry case-management system with federal Adam Walsh Act implementation funds from federal fiscal year 2022. The new system went live in late January. As user acceptance testing continues, several issues have turned up for the vendor to resolve. Some fall outside the system's original requirements, so the department classifies them as enhancements, the award description says.

The full project is estimated at $154,000. The state is adding $66,921 toward the system changes. The federal share comes through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program as 2025 reallocation funding under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Earlier reallocation money paid for digital storage and software to keep registry files easy to retrieve, according to the award description.

The public registry lists people who have registered and people required to register who may be out of compliance, according to the Alaska Sex Offender Registry. It can be searched by name, address, ZIP code, city or registration status.

A review by the Justice Department's SMART Office found Alaska had not substantially implemented the federal registration law.

The award runs through Sept. 30, 2028. Federal records list the $87,079 as obligated to date, which is not the same as money spent.