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MEGAN'S LAW COAST TO COAST
On May 17, 1996, President Clinton signed Megan's Law as an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children's Act. Megan's Law requires each state in the country to notify the public when dangerous sexual offenders are residing in their area.
Each of the fifty states carries some form of public notification. Some states have developed a three-tiered system for categorizing the offenders by risk to the public. Tier One, which is a low risk of reoffending, Tier Two, which is a moderate risk of reoffending and Tier Three which is a high risk of reoffending. By using the three-tiered system, the state
determines who in the public gets notified of the offender's residence. In some states, Tier Two notices go out to schools, day care centers and organizations who have children under their care. Tier Three notices go out to families living within a certain radius of the offender's home.
Some states have set up a database of sex offender information through local police departments that can be accessed by the public. Some require written requests for information and others require a fee for sex offender information.
Thirty-seven states have developed sex offender internet registries.
Megan's Law provides several different avenues of notifying the public across
the country. Each state has created the notification system that best suits their state constitution and need.
If you would like to see what form of notification your state provides, please click on your state.
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