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Article updated: 10/4/2012 3:52 PM

Many states fall short of federal sex offender law

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James Womack, director of Hand Up Ministries, talks Wednesday with members of the Oklahoma Metro Prayer Alliance on the grounds of the Ministry in Oklahoma City. Behind Womack are some of the trailers where 150 sex offenders who have been released from prison after serving their sentences are housed.

Associated Press

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Nearly three dozen states have failed to meet conditions of a 2006 federal law that requires them to join a nationwide program to track sex offenders, including five states that have completely given up on the effort because of persistent doubts about how it works and how much it costs. “The requirements would have been a huge expense,” said Doris Smith, who oversees grant programs at the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.