WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) today announced a $37,060 grant was awarded to the Saline County Sheriff’s Department to implement a Sex Offender Management Assistance program (SOMA).

Senator Roberts said, "I am pleased to announce these funds, which are vital to protecting the public from convicted sex offenders and offenders against children. Sex offender sentencing, monitoring, apprehending, registering and tracking are imperative to the public’s safety and should continued to be supported."

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 authorizes the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office to implement a SOMA program. SOMA grants assist state, local, and tribal jurisdictions in implementing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office will use its funding for two purposes. The first is for overtime to increase compliance checks on its registered sex offenders. Currently the Sheriff’s Office conducts compliance checks every four months and seeks to increase these checks to once every two months. Second, the office will use the grant to enhance its computer system so that when new information is input in the local system, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) will be automatically updated.

The funds were awarded by the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Office within the Department of Justice.