An exclusion engine for electronic communications in controlled-environment facilities. In some embodiments, a method may include method may include receiving, at one or more computer systems, a request for an electronic communication between a resident and a non-resident of a controlled-environment facility and determining, via the one or more computer systems, whether an exclusion list adopted by the controlled-environment facility allows the non-resident to communicate with the resident, where the exclusion list is of a type selected from the group consisting of: a permissive list, and a restrictive list. For example, a permissive list may identify one or more non-residents that are allowed to communicate with the resident, and a restrictive list may identify one or more non-residents that are not allowed to communicate with the resident.