This recommendation paper was developed as part of the work of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Social Inclusion of the ESF Transnational Cooperation Platform. In particular, it draws upon the webinar on ‘Housing and community-based care for people leaving institutions’ (March 2022) which looked at practices aimed at preventing homelessness and further marginalisation, with a particular focus on offenders and ex-offenders. The paper is intended to be a useful tool for practitioners involved in the design, delivery, and monitoring of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), including managing authorities, intermediary bodies, relevant ministries and public bodies, policy and country desk officers in the European Commission, prison and probationary services, and prisoner rights advocates. The aim of the paper is twofold: to highlight the importance of investing in (ex-)offenders; and to provide recommendations on the use of ESF+ to support (ex-)offenders.

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