Safe Shelters for Survivors Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill would stop registered sex offenders from staying at or using services from homeless and domestic violence shelters that receive federal money. The goal is to protect vulnerable people, like survivors of abuse and children, who are living in these temporary homes.
• If a shelter breaks this rule and lets a registered sex offender stay there, the government would take away all of that shelter's federal funding for the next year. This puts pressure on shelters to check the backgrounds of the people they help.
• Registered sex offenders would be required to tell shelter staff about their status as soon as they walk in. They are only allowed to enter these buildings to ask for information about other places to stay that do not receive federal funding.
• Any registered sex offender who knowingly breaks these rules or fails to tell staff about their status could be fined or sent to prison for up to five years. These new rules would start 180 days after the bill becomes a law.