Providers and state officials sometimes recommend that state-run shelter residents should check to see if they are eligible to seal potential Massachusetts criminal records that could be a barrier to moving into stable housing, according to a publicly available document.

Families in the Massachusetts housing and rental market have long had the opportunity to petition a judge to seal local court records found in the state’s criminal record information system in an effort to speed up their housing search and prevent discrimination, experts said.

Background checks for residents in the state-run shelter system and those trying to gain access have become a flashpoint on Beacon Hill after multiple migrants in shelters were charged with crimes and the cost to run the program skyrocketed over the past several years.

But Greater Boston Legal Services Senior Attorney Liz Alfred said the ability to seal court records found in the CORI system primarily impacts people who have lived in Massachusetts for a long time, not newly-arrived migrants, because the database only contains information from the Bay State.

“It’s really about not having something that happens in someone’s past then define them and they have to wear it around sort of like a scarlet letter for the rest of their life,” she said in an interview. “People should be allowed to move past things when they do something wrong and they shouldn’t always be viewed with skepticism because of that.”

Some conservatives criticized the ability for individuals to seek legal services to seal CORI records.

“Gov. (Maura) Healey is the master of the cover-up. Absolutely egregious,” the Massachusetts Republican Party said on social media.

Massachusetts’ decades-old right-to-shelter law guarantees families with children and pregnant women temporary housing.

But Healey and Beacon Hill lawmakers have incrementally put restrictions on the law, including capping the maximum time in shelter to nine months and requiring families to prove they are seeking permanent housing.

Families in the emergency shelter system are required to attend monthly “rehousing meetings” and follow a written plan that attempts to shift them into a stable housing situation before they hit the maximum amount of time they are allowed to live in shelters.

An example of a written “rehousing plan” posted to the state’s website advises shelter residents to seek legal services to seal records found in the Massachusetts CORI database. Actual plans can vary and not all suggest record sealing, especially if a person does not have past convictions, according to the Healey administration.

The mock rehousing plan and suggestion to seek CORI sealing services are not new guidance, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said in a statement to the Herald.

The document is referencing long-standing case management practice to help families exit state-run shelters by addressing several possible barriers to employment or renting, including past convictions, the spokesperson said.

The Healey administration does not seal CORI records itself or assist shelter residents in that process, the spokesperson said, and more than 75% of shelter applicants are long-time Massachusetts residents.

Shelter residents who want to seal their local criminal records need to seek relief from the court system on their own and only the courts in Massachusetts can seal CORI records, the spokesperson said.

The template for a rehousing plan includes myriad other suggestions for families to find other housing, including one section that recommends people reach out to relatives in other states.

“Did not complete: Reaching out to aunt in TX >>> This month: Will call aunt on Thursday (2/22) and email progress report,” the housing plan mock up said.

Another portion of the example housing plan sets a goal to “find a job to increase income.”

“Meet with employment specialist to complete intake. Follow-up: Bring any documents given,” the template said.