AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Stephanie Jerstad, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, presented on January 11, 2022, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.TITLE: CARE FOR THE AGING: LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT PERSONS CONVICTED OF SEXUAL OFFENDING MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Breanne Pleggenkuhle The present study is a multi-pronged approach to examine the willingness of long-term care facilities (LTCF) to accept persons on the sex offender registry or with a sexual offense conviction. First, this dissertation utilizes a statutory analysis to examine all 50 states policies for admitting and managing such individuals in long-term care. Second, the study aims to explain why some states may enact a LTC/SO policy by examining state characteristics, policy and political affiliation. Third, the study sets out to better understand if facility-level characteristics matter to the acceptance of persons on the sex offender registry. And will discuss findings from semi-structured interviews of LTCF administrators of their decision-making processes, and their attitudes towards company policy. The findings of all three levels of analyses are presented and future research is discussed. Keywords: Sex offender, long-term care facility, SORN and residency restriction laws, statutory review, collateral consequences of sex offender policy