Resolution Regarding Sex Offender Registration Requirements For Youth Younger Than Age 18

• Published date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12180
• Date: 01 September 2020

Resolution Regarding Sex Offender Registration

Requirements For Youth Younger Than Age 18

WHEREAS, the Adam Walsh Act, Public Law 109-248 requires that certain

youth younger than age 18 be placed on sex offender registries;

1

and

WHEREAS, research shows that placing youth on sex offender registries does not

advance public safety and can actually make communities less safe;

2

and

WHEREAS, research confirms that reoffending rates for youth who offend sexually

are extremely low and that juvenile sexual reoffense risk assessments have been vali-

dated for predicting sexual reoffending;

3

and

WHEREAS, research demonstrates that most youth who sexually offend respond

well to evidence-based early intervention and treatment programs; and

WHEREAS, a substantial proportion of youth who sexually offend have them-

selves been victims of sexual assault as children;

4

and

WHEREAS, youth of color

5

and children subjected to abuse or neglect, and chil-

dren in foster care are at greater risk of being placed on registries; and

1

Title I of the Adam Walsh Act, also known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

(SORNA), has been codified in large part at 42 U.S.C. §16911 et. seq.

2

Letourneau, E. J. & Armstrong, K. S. (2008). Recidivism rates for registered and nonregistered

juvenile sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment,20, 393-408; Letourneau, E. J.,

Bandyopadhyay, D., Sinha, D., & Armstrong, K. S. (2009). The influence of sex offender registration on

juvenile sexual recidivism. Criminal Justice Policy Review,20, 136-153. Registration policies do not improve

public safety. Studies show that registration has no effect on sexual and nonsexual violent recidivism. In

other words, the rate at which juveniles commit new offenses –an already low number –is not affected by

registration.

3

Caldwell, M. (In Press). Quantifying the decline in juvenile sexual recidivism rates. Psychology, Pub-

lic Policy and Law. Caldwell (2016). Quantifying the decline in juvenile sexual recidivism rates. Psychology,

Public Policy, and Law; Caldwell (2010). Study characteristics and recidivism base rates in juvenile sex offen-

der recidivism. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54, 197-212. Sexual

recidivism rates for youth who sexually offend are vanishingly low. There are now more than 100 published

studies evaluating the recidivism rates of youth who have sexually offended: the average 5-year recidivism

rate is less than 3%.

4

Pittman, N. (2015). Reanalysis of interview data. Unpublished. Raised on the registry: The irreparable

harm of placing children on sex offender registries in the U.S. Human Rights Watch. ISBN: 978-1-62313-0084.

5

Pittman, N. and Parker, A. (2013). Raised on the Registry: The irreparable harm of placing children on

sex offender registries in the U.S. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch.

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 71, No. 3

©2020 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

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