Federal Interagency Reentry Council

Reentry MythBusters

Reentry MythBusters are fact sheets designed to clarify existing federal policies that affect formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in areas such as public housing, employment, parental rights, Medicaid suspension/termination, voting rights and more.

Reentry Council Snapshots and Additional Resources

The Snapshots cover a broad range of reentry topics. Each Snapshot briefly describes the issue, summarizes Reentry Council accomplishments to date, lays out the Council’s priorities moving forward, and points to key resources and links.

“At this critical juncture–this moment of rare bipartisan agreement–it is more important than ever that we harness this momentum and continue to push forward, so that every American returning from prison can find dignified work and adequate shelter; so that they can receive fair treatment and full opportunity; so that they return to a society that values them as fellow citizens; so that they can, in fact, truly return home.”

—Attorney General Loretta Lynch

reentry council meeting

The Federal Interagency Reentry Council represents 20 federal agencies, working towards a mission to:

  • make communities safer by reducing recidivism and victimization,
  • assist those who return from prison and jail in becoming productive citizens, and
  • save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration.

The Reentry Council, established by Attorney General Holder in January 2011, represents a significant executive branch commitment to coordinating reentry efforts and advancing effective reentry policies. It is premised on the recognition that many federal agencies have a major stake in prisoner reentry. The reentry population is one we are already working with -- not only in our prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities, but in our emergency rooms, homeless shelters, unemployment lines, child support offices, veterans’ hospitals, and elsewhere. When we extend out to the children and families of returning prisoners, the intersection is even greater.

A chief focus of the Reentry Council is to remove federal barriers to successful reentry, so that motivated individuals - who have served their time and paid their debts - are able to compete for a job, attain stable housing, support their children and their families, and contribute to their communities. Reentry Council agencies are taking concrete steps towards these ends, to not only reduce recidivism and high correctional costs but also to improve public health, child welfare, employment, education, housing and other key reintegration outcomes. 

Reentry Council Agencies

  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • U.S. Department of Interior
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • U.S. Department of Labor
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Office of National Drug Control Policy
  • U.S. Social Security Administration
  • Domestic Policy Council
  • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
  • Office of Personnel Management
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • Internal Revenue Service
  • Federal Trade Commission
  • U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
  • U.S. Small Business Administration
  • Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency
  • U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Corporation for National and Community Service
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Council of Economic Advisers

More information on the Reentry Council agencies and history: 

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