The keweenaw BAY indian community (KBIC) continues its role as an independent registration jurisdiction for sorna and will use award funding to address several areas where KBIC's SEX offender registry…

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking awarded Keweenaw Bay Indian Community $386,525 on March 1, 2026, under the Support for Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program (CFDA 16.750) to strengthen and enhance the tribe's sex offender registry program operating under SORNA jurisdiction.

The recipient will strengthen SORNA registry laws, policies, and procedures to establish robust directives for registering and tiering serious sex offenses; develop a training regimen for all SORNA participating partners and tribal police department personnel addressing gaps in registration knowledge and processes; maintain daily operations of the SORNA registry while increasing automation of records and interconnectivity with the police department's new records management system; and establish and expand community awareness initiatives by informing schools and the community of policy changes and responding to emerging concerns including sextortion and human trafficking.

The award funds work performed in Baraga, Michigan, with a period of performance from March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2029. The funding addresses several operational challenges facing Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's registry program, including staff turnover, automation gaps within the tribal police department, new tribal court cases involving felony-level sex offenses, and increased community and school concerns regarding exploitation and trafficking.

The keweenaw BAY indian community (KBIC) continues its role as an independent registration jurisdiction for sorna and will use award funding to address several areas where KBIC's SEX offender registry program can be enhanced and improved to the benefit of the community, including staff turnover, increasing automation within the tribal police department, new tribal court cases involving felony-level SEX offenses and increased concerns from schools and the community on issues such as sextortion and human trafficking. KBIC will address these issues in the following ways: 1) strengthen KBIC's SEX offender registry laws, policies and procedures to reflect more robust and clear directives for registering and tiering serious SEX offenses; 2) develop a training regimen that applies to all sorna participating partners as well as the police department that will address any gaps in knowledge of registration and related processes; 3) maintain the daily operations of the sorna registry while increasing automation of records and interconnectivity with the police department's new records management system; and establish and expand on community awareness initiatives by keeping the schools and community informed of policy changes as they occur, and responding to concerns such as sextortion according the needs of the community.