Canton, Cherokee County, Ga. April 28, 2008- The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office has recently been awarded a $120,000.00 federal grant in support of implementation of the Adam Walsh Act.

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was created to protect the public, particularly children, from violent sex offenders through a comprehensive and nationalized sex offender registry system.

The funds awarded to the Sheriff's Office will be used to further enhance the agency's already successful sex offender registry management program. The grant provides funds for personnel and equipment to be used to monitor registered sex offenders. The additional personnel and equipment will be used to verify residential and work status and monitor the compliance of registrants with the Georgia Sex Offender Registry Act.

In addition to these enhancements, money has been made available to enhance public notifications regarding sex offenders. Through the agency website, the Sheriff's Office currently provides to the public the opportunity to sign up for and receive email notifications concerning sex offenders. The additional funding will now allow the Sheriff's Office to mail notification cards to citizens whenever a sex offender moves into their community.

The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office continues to seek out grants to enhance the agency in order to better serve the citizens of Cherokee County. Since 2006 the Sheriff’s Office has received 27 federal, state and private grants totaling $737,924.00.

For more information regarding the Sex Offender management program, or any program of the Office of the Sheriff, please visit http://www.cherokeega-sheriff.org .