IX. Recommendations

To the US Congress and State Legislatures

• Amend state and federal law to explicitly exempt all persons who were below the age of 18 at the time of their offense (youth sex offenders) from all sex offender registration, community notification, and residency restriction laws unless and until evidence-based research demonstrates that such requirements provide a significant, measurable improvement in public safety that outweighs the harms to former youth sex offenders and their families.
• To the extent that youth sex offenders remain subject to registration, amend state and federal law to ensure that youth sex offenders are placed on registries only after an individualized assessment. We recommend that such assessments require that a judge determine by clear and convincing evidence at an evidentiary hearing where the youth offender is represented by counsel that: (a) a panel of qualified experts using a validated risk assessment tool has determined that the youth poses a high risk of sexual reoffending, and (b) public safety cannot be adequately protected through any means other than the youth being subject to registration.
• The determination that registration is necessary should be reviewed at least on an annual basis for as long as the registration requirement lasts.
• All determinations should be made with an eye towards reducing the threat of unnecessary stigmatization to the youth offender and his or her victim.
• At periodic reviews, youth offender registrants should be able to present evidence of rehabilitation, change in life circumstances, incapacitation (for example, disease or disability) or substantial time living in the community without reoffending as grounds for termination of the requirement to register or a change in their assigned level of risk.
• In the initial registration hearing and at all periodic reviews, the burden of proof should remain on the state to prove that a registrant poses a public safety risk and thus must remain on the registry.
• Do not subject any youth offenders to lifetime registration requirements.
• To the extent youth offenders determined to pose a high risk of sexual reoffending continue to be subject to registration, use registration information solely for purposes of law enforcement. Do not subject these offenders to community notification, internet publication, or having their records open to public inspection.
• Do not apply residency restrictions to youth sex offenders, apart from appropriate restrictions on return to a residence where the victim of their offense lives. In the latter cases (as where a sibling is the victim), return to the home should be managed as a part of child welfare, probation, or parole systems and should be made on a case-by-case basis with the input of  professionals expert in, for example, child development, psychiatry, and child protection.
• Do not require youth sex offenders to register with their schools or places of employment.
• Amend federal and state legislation to ensure that individuals who are non-registrants in one state are not required to register simply because they move to another state.

To State Legislatures and Agencies

• Require that all persons who are charged with a sexual offense committed before age 18 are represented by counsel.
• Create an impartial body, including representatives from law enforcement agencies and the criminal defense bar, to regularly review all registration information to ensure its accuracy and to remove youth offenders from registries as soon as registration requirements have ended. Additionally, this body should be empowered to ensure that the information on registration sites is not misleading (for example, the age at which the registrant committed the offense should be included).
• Amend state penal law on the crime of “failure to register” to allow for an exception for “good faith” efforts to comply with registration requirements. For those with an underlying juvenile sex offense, “failure to register” should be a juvenile court offense and should remain within juvenile court jurisdiction.
• Support development of a range of strategies to prevent sexual abuse, including educational programs for families, treatment and other resources for survivors of sexual violence, promotion of safety precautions by youth and adults, and campaigns that take a public health approach to the reduction of sexual violence.
• Work with national organizations such as the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) and the National Center for Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY), national experts, and relevant local agencies and organizations to conduct community meetings when registrants move into a neighborhood. Community meetings should aim at safe reintegration of the registrant, as well as provide fact-based education about where the most serious risks of sexual abuse lie and guidance on how to prevent sexual abuse before it occurs.
• Involve youth offenders, family members, survivors of sexual abuse and their communities in the development of prevention and protection programs, and ensure that their particular perspectives—reflecting their different cultural, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds—are taken into account in the design of such programs.

To State and Federal Judges

• As a part of any plea negotiation, ensure that all persons accused of sexual offenses who are below the age of 18—whether in juvenile or adult court proceedings—are advised, using language tailored to the child’s level of understanding, of the implications of an adjudication or conviction for a sexual offense, including the registration, community notification, and residency requirements.

To Prosecutors

• Exercise prosecutorial discretion to interpret any vague or ambiguous statutes to exclude youth from sex offender registration requirements.
• As a part of any sentencing or plea negotiation, ensure that all persons accused of sexual offenses who are below the age of 18—whether in juvenile or adult court proceedings—are advised of the implications of an adjudication or conviction for a sexual offense, including the registration, community notification, and residency requirements.

To Defense Attorneys

• Using language tailored to the child’s level of understanding, advise all clients below the age of 18—whether in juvenile or adult court proceedings—of the implications of an adjudication or conviction for a sexual offense, including the registration, community notification, and residency requirements and the consequences of a failure-to-register conviction.
• Ensure that courts hold all required periodic review hearings.
• Work to ensure that all youth charged with sexual offenses are represented by counsel.

To Police and Other Law Enforcement Agencies

• If a subgroup of youth sex offenders remain subject to community notification, eliminate the use of posters, flyers, and other easily replicable materials to alert communities of the presence of a registered sex offender in their neighborhood. Inform community members individually, using accurate and responsible language to describe the potential threat posed by the registrant.
• Recognize law enforcement and other local officials’ responsibility and authority to keep all community members safe, including people who have been convicted of sex offenses. In deciding the method and scope of community notification, take into consideration the potential for community hostility against registrants and take any necessary steps to mitigate the potential hostility.
• For officers involved in the investigation of sexual offenses, institute training on adolescent development, issues surrounding youth sexual offending, youth sex offender treatment, and recidivism rates.