Fact Sheet: The Adam Walsh Child Protection And Safety Act Of 2006

Today, President Bush Signed The Adam Walsh Child Protection And Safety Act Of 2006. This law marks an important step forward in our Nation's efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It will strengthen Federal laws to protect our children from sexual and other violent crimes, prevent child pornography, and make the Internet safer for our sons and daughters.

President Bush Believes Our Society Has A Duty To Protect Children From Exploitation And Danger. By enacting this law, we are sending a clear message across the country that those who prey on our children will be caught, prosecuted, and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

The Administration Has Worked To Give Law Enforcement New Tools To Go After Criminals Who Kidnap And Exploit Children.

• The PROTECT Act. In 2003, President Bush signed the PROTECT Act that expanded the use of Amber Alerts, making grants available to all 50 States so law enforcement can quickly alert the public about missing children and their abductors.
• Operation Predator. The Administration launched Operation Predator to help law enforcement track down and arrest foreign pedophiles, human traffickers, sex tourists, and Internet pornographers who prey on our children.
• Project Safe Childhood. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood to help Federal, State, and local law enforcement investigate and prosecute crimes against children that are facilitated by the Internet and other electronic communications.

The Adam Walsh Child Protection And Safety Act Of 2006 Builds On The Administration's Progress In Four Important Ways:

1. Expanding The National Sex Offender Registry. The bill will integrate the information in State sex offender registry systems and ensure that law enforcement has access to the same information across the United States, helping prevent sex offenders from evading detection by moving from State to State. Data drawn from this comprehensive registry will be made available to the public so parents have the information they need to help protect their children from sex offenders.
2. Strengthening Federal Penalties For Crimes Against Children. The bill imposes tough mandatory minimum penalties for the most serious crimes against children and increases penalties for crimes such as sex trafficking of children and child prostitution. It also provides grants to States to help them institutionalize sex offenders who have shown they cannot change their behavior and are about to be released from prison.
3. Making It Harder For Sex Predators To Reach Our Children On The Internet. The bill authorizes new regional Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforces that will provide funding and training to help State and local law enforcement combat crimes involving the sexual exploitation of minors on the Internet.

Creating A New National Child Abuse Registry And Requiring Investigators To Do Background Checks Of Adoptive And Foster Parents Before They Are Approved To Take Custody Of A Child. By giving child protective service professionals in all 50 States access to this critical information, we will improve their ability to investigate child abuse cases and help ensure that vulnerable children are not put into situations of abuse or neglect.