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Megan's Law

   

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Washington State’s 1990 Community Protection Act included America’s first law authorizing public notification when dangerous sex offenders are released into the community. However, it was the brutal 1994 rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka that prompted the public demand for broad based community notification. On May 17, 1996, President Clinton signed Megan's Law. Megan's Law requires the following two components:

Sex Offender Registration – The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act requires the States to register individuals convicted of sex crimes against children. Sex offender registration laws are necessary because:

bulletSex offenders pose a high risk of re-offending after release from custody;
bulletProtecting the public from sex offenders is a primary governmental interest;
bulletThe privacy interests of persons convicted of sex offenses are less important than the government’s interest in public safety;
bulletRelease of certain information about sex offenders to public agencies and the general public will assist in protecting the public safety.

Community Notification – Megan’s Law allows the States discretion to establish criteria for disclosure, but compels them to make private and personal information on registered sex offenders available to the public. Community notification:

bulletAssists law enforcement in investigations;
bulletEstablishes legal grounds to hold known offenders;
bulletDeters sex offenders from committing new offenses;
bulletOffers citizens information they can use to protect children from victimization.

Our interactive Megan’s Law map is color coded to reflect Internet access of community notification laws to better serve America’s evolving, fast paced, transient society. Young parents considering day care providers or businesses and organizations whose employees or volunteers have unsupervised access to children require this critical information so that they can make informed choices based on the best information available.

In order to remain current and maintain relevance we ask the public to provide updated information that we may have overlooked, including new, broken or invalid web links so that the I Am Focused Foundation can be one of the Internet’s premiere Megan’s Law destination.

Accessing Megan's Law - International Efforts - http://www.forsarah.com/html/mainpage.html

Updated 3/9/04

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky

Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
 Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota

Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

 

 

Map of Megan's Law by State

 

Alabama -- 4,757 updated 1/20/04
Alaska -- 2,709 updated as of 7/28/03
Arizona -- 13,500 updated as of 6/19/03
Arkansas -- 4,982 updated 1/20/04
California -- 95,401 updated 3/25/03
Colorado -- 8,071 updated 7/25/03
Connecticut -- 2,443 updated 4/09/03
Delaware -- 1080 updated 7/17/02
Florida -- 25,000+ updated 8/19/02
Georgia -- 2,800 updated 11/12/02
Hawaii -- 2,177 updated 4/4/01
Idaho -- 2271 adults 118 juveniles 7/1/03
Illinois -- 12,408 updated 7/17/02
Indiana -- # can be researched by Sheriffs' departments - updated 7/25/03
Iowa -- 5,793 updated 3/1/04
Kansas -- 3,117 updated 11/25/03
Kentucky -- 4,003 updated 1/20/04

Louisiana -- 3,570 updated 7/1/03
Maine -- 1051 updated 6/17/03
Maryland -- 2,576 updated 8/19/02
Massachusetts -- 18,000 updated 11/15/02
Michigan -- 32,424 as of 7/01/03
Minnesota -- 11,000+ updated 7/31/03
Mississippi -- 2,547 updated 8/12/03
Missouri -- 8,338 as of 8/19/02
Montana -- 4,000 updated 3/9/04
Nebraska -- 1,800 updated 3/9/04
Nevada -- 6,000 as of 7/1/02
New Hampshire -- 2,500 updated 2/18/03
New Jersey -- 9,161 updated 7/25/03
New Mexico -- 1,900 as of 3/9/04
New York -- 14,432 as of 7/29/02
North Carolina -- 5,915 updated 7/30/02
North Dakota -- 1,036 updated 3/26/04

Ohio -- 9,104 updated 2/7/03
Oklahoma -- 5,170 updated 3/9/04
Oregon -- 12,137 updated 7/29/02
Pennsylvania -- 5,500 updated 6/18/03
Rhode Island -- 1,424 updated 5/16/01
South Carolina -- 6,607 updated 3/9/04
South Dakota -- 1,332 updated 3/09/04
Tennessee -- 6,176 updated 7/31/03
Texas -- 28,728 updated 2/18/03
Utah -- 5,192 updated 3/20/02
Vermont -- 1,973 updated 3/9/04
Virginia -- 11,457 updated 7/1/03
Washington -- 16,559 updated 7/28/03
Washington, D.C. -- 524 updated 3/9/04
West Virginia -- 1,731 updated 8/20/03
Wisconsin -- 15,200 updated 8/12/03
Wyoming -- 883 updated 3/9/04