Federal funding for digital guides helping formerly incarcerated people find housing, jobs, treatmen
H.R. 7309 — Reentry Resource Guide Act of 2026 · Filed by Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) · Introduced Feb 2, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a three-year pilot program in which the Attorney General awards grants to states to build and maintain searchable digital guides listing local resources available to people returning from incarceration—including housing, employment, mental health, addiction treatment, legal aid, and other services. States apply by identifying resources and appointing staff to manage the guide; the federal government funds planning, implementation, staff salaries, and website maintenance, with $8 million authorized annually through 2030.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to fund state-level digital resource guides for formerly incarcerated individuals. It is a straightforward public-health and criminal-justice intervention with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Success of the pilot depends on states' willingness to participate and quality of resource identification; federal funding does not guarantee uptake or effectiveness.
- The bill requires annual reporting on recidivism reduction but does not mandate specific outcome thresholds, leaving evaluation standards to the Attorney General.
- Digital-only guides may exclude individuals without internet access or digital literacy; the bill does not require alternative formats or offline accessibility.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill directly funds infrastructure to help formerly incarcerated people access critical reentry services—housing, employment, mental health care, addiction treatment—that reduce recidivism and improve successful community reintegration. No restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies are imposed; the program is voluntary for states and purely additive to existing services.
Named in the bill
Attorney General, States (eligible applicants), Formerly incarcerated individuals, Community resource organizations
Where it stands
- Feb 2, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 2, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,207 characters) on Aug 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal funding for digital guides helping formerly incarcerated people find housing, jobs, treatmen” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr7309 Report an error
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