diff --git a/collects/scribblings/reference/futures.scrbl b/collects/scribblings/reference/futures.scrbl
index f0a2a8e149..90d94ebbf3 100644
--- a/collects/scribblings/reference/futures.scrbl
+++ b/collects/scribblings/reference/futures.scrbl
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ concurrency. At the same time, operations that seem obviously safe may
 have a complex enough implementation internally that they cannot run in
 parallel. See also @guidesecref["effective-futures"] in @|Guide|.
 
+A future never runs in parallel if all of the @tech{custodians} that
+allow its creating thread to run are shut down. Such futures can
+execute through a call to @racket[touch], however.
+
 @deftogether[(
   @defproc[(future [thunk (-> any)]) future?]
   @defproc[(touch [f future?]) any]
diff --git a/collects/tests/future/future.rkt b/collects/tests/future/future.rkt
index 5fb94ad10a..7b9fb86cad 100644
--- a/collects/tests/future/future.rkt
+++ b/collects/tests/future/future.rkt
@@ -435,3 +435,62 @@ We should also test deep continuations.
         (future void)
         (future (parameterize ([eval-jit-enabled #f])
                   (eval #'(lambda () (void)))))))))
+
+;; A future shouldn't use up a background thread if its
+;; starting thread's custodian is shut down:
+(let ()
+  (define f #f)
+  (define c (make-custodian))
+  (parameterize ([current-custodian c])
+    (sync (thread (lambda ()
+                    (set! f (future (lambda ()
+                                      (let loop () (loop)))))))))
+  (sleep 0.1)
+  (custodian-shutdown-all c))
+
+;; If a future is suspended via a custodian, it should still
+;; work to touch it:
+(let ()
+  (define f #f)
+  (define s (make-fsemaphore 0))
+  (define c (make-custodian))
+  (parameterize ([current-custodian c])
+    (sync (thread (lambda ()
+                    (set! f (future (lambda ()
+                                      (fsemaphore-wait s)
+                                      10)))))))
+  (sleep 0.1)
+  (custodian-shutdown-all c)
+  (fsemaphore-post s)
+  (check-equal? 10 (touch f)))
+
+
+;; Start a future in a custodian-suspended future:
+(let ()
+  (define f #f)
+  (define s (make-fsemaphore 0))
+  (define c (make-custodian))
+  (parameterize ([current-custodian c])
+    (sync (thread (lambda ()
+                    (set! f (future (lambda ()
+                                      (fsemaphore-wait s)
+                                      (future
+                                       (lambda ()
+                                         11)))))))))
+  (sleep 0.1)
+  (custodian-shutdown-all c)
+  (fsemaphore-post s)
+  (check-equal? 11 (touch (touch f))))
+
+;; Don't get stuck on a bunch of futures that
+;; have been disabled:
+(let ()
+  (define c (make-custodian))
+  (define (loop) (loop))
+  (parameterize ([current-custodian c])
+    (sync (thread (lambda ()
+                    (for ([i (in-range 100)])
+                      (future loop))))))
+  (sleep 0.1)
+  (custodian-shutdown-all c)
+  (sleep 0.1))
diff --git a/src/racket/src/future.c b/src/racket/src/future.c
index f98b45e88d..4f4f5048b5 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/future.c
+++ b/src/racket/src/future.c
@@ -734,8 +734,15 @@ void scheme_future_continue_after_gc()
   for (i = 0; i < THREAD_POOL_SIZE; i++) {
     if (fs->pool_threads[i]) {
       *(fs->pool_threads[i]->need_gc_pointer) = 0;
-      *(fs->pool_threads[i]->fuel_pointer) = 1;
-      *(fs->pool_threads[i]->stack_boundary_pointer) -= INITIAL_C_STACK_SIZE;
+
+      if (!fs->pool_threads[i]->thread->current_ft
+          || scheme_custodian_is_available(fs->pool_threads[i]->thread->current_ft->cust)) {
+        *(fs->pool_threads[i]->fuel_pointer) = 1;
+        *(fs->pool_threads[i]->stack_boundary_pointer) -= INITIAL_C_STACK_SIZE;
+      } else {
+        /* leave fuel exhausted, which will force the thread into a slow 
+           path when it resumes to suspend the computation */
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -760,6 +767,12 @@ void scheme_future_gc_pause()
   mzrt_mutex_unlock(fs->future_mutex);
 }
 
+void scheme_future_check_custodians()
+{
+  scheme_future_block_until_gc();
+  scheme_future_continue_after_gc();
+}
+
 /**********************************************************************/
 /* Primitive implementations                                          */
 /**********************************************************************/
@@ -772,6 +785,7 @@ Scheme_Object *scheme_future(int argc, Scheme_Object *argv[])
   future_t *ft;
   Scheme_Native_Closure *nc;
   Scheme_Native_Closure_Data *ncd;
+  Scheme_Custodian *c;
   Scheme_Object *lambda = argv[0];
   double time_of_start;
 
@@ -804,6 +818,14 @@ Scheme_Object *scheme_future(int argc, Scheme_Object *argv[])
   ft->id = futureid;
   ft->orig_lambda = lambda;
   ft->status = PENDING;
+
+  if (scheme_current_thread->mref)
+    c = scheme_custodian_extract_reference(scheme_current_thread->mref);
+  else {
+    /* must be in a future thread (if futures can be created in future threads) */
+    c = scheme_current_thread->current_ft->cust;
+  }
+  ft->cust = c;
    
   /* JIT the code if not already JITted */
   if (ncd) {
@@ -890,13 +912,24 @@ Scheme_Object *scheme_fsemaphore_count(int argc, Scheme_Object **argv)
   return scheme_make_integer(sema->ready);
 }
 
+static void requeue_future_within_lock(future_t *future, Scheme_Future_State *fs) 
+{
+  if (scheme_custodian_is_available(future->cust)) {
+    future->status = PENDING;
+    enqueue_future(fs, future);
+    /* Signal that a future is pending */
+    mzrt_sema_post(fs->future_pending_sema);
+  } else {
+    /* The future's constodian is shut down, so don't try to
+       run it in a future thread anymore */
+    future->status = SUSPENDED;
+  }
+}
+
 static void requeue_future(future_t *future, Scheme_Future_State *fs) 
 {
   mzrt_mutex_lock(fs->future_mutex);
-  future->status = PENDING;
-  enqueue_future(fs, future);
-  /* Signal that a future is now pending */
-  mzrt_sema_post(fs->future_pending_sema);
+  requeue_future_within_lock(future, fs);
   mzrt_mutex_unlock(fs->future_mutex);
 }
 
@@ -1254,13 +1287,14 @@ Scheme_Object *touch(int argc, Scheme_Object *argv[])
   mzrt_mutex_lock(fs->future_mutex);
   if ((((ft->status == PENDING) 
         && prefer_to_apply_future_in_runtime())
-       || (ft->status == PENDING_OVERSIZE))
+       || (ft->status == PENDING_OVERSIZE)
+       || (ft->status == SUSPENDED))
       && (!ft->suspended_lw
           || scheme_can_apply_lightweight_continuation(ft->suspended_lw))) {
     if (ft->status == PENDING_OVERSIZE) {
       scheme_log(scheme_main_logger, SCHEME_LOG_DEBUG, 0,
                  "future: oversize procedure deferred to runtime thread");
-    } else {
+    } else if (ft->status != SUSPENDED) {
       dequeue_future(fs, ft);
     }
     ft->status = RUNNING;
@@ -1323,8 +1357,9 @@ Scheme_Object *touch(int argc, Scheme_Object *argv[])
         if (ft->suspended_lw
             && scheme_can_apply_lightweight_continuation(ft->suspended_lw)
             && prefer_to_apply_future_in_runtime()) {
+          if (ft->status != SUSPENDED)
+            dequeue_future(fs, ft);
           ft->status = RUNNING;
-          dequeue_future(fs, ft);
           /* may raise an exception or escape: */
           mzrt_mutex_unlock(fs->future_mutex);
           future_in_runtime(ft);
@@ -1460,6 +1495,7 @@ void *worker_thread_future_loop(void *arg)
     mzrt_sema_wait(fs->future_pending_sema);
     mzrt_mutex_lock(fs->future_mutex);
     start_gc_not_ok(fs);
+
     ft = get_pending_future(fs);
 
     if (ft) {
@@ -1746,6 +1782,11 @@ static void future_do_runtimecall(Scheme_Future_Thread_State *fts,
   insist_to_suspend = !is_atomic;
   prefer_to_suspend = (insist_to_suspend || fs->future_queue_count);
 
+  if (!scheme_custodian_is_available(future->cust)) {
+    insist_to_suspend = 1;
+    prefer_to_suspend = 1;
+  }
+
   if (prefer_to_suspend
       && GC_gen0_alloc_page_ptr 
       && capture_future_continuation(future, storage)) {
@@ -2164,10 +2205,7 @@ static void do_invoke_rtcall(Scheme_Future_State *fs, future_t *future)
   mzrt_mutex_lock(fs->future_mutex);
   if (future->suspended_lw) {
     /* Re-enqueue the future so that some future thread can continue */
-    future->status = PENDING;
-    enqueue_future(fs, future);
-    /* Signal that a future is pending */
-    mzrt_sema_post(fs->future_pending_sema);
+    requeue_future_within_lock(future, fs);
   } else {
     /* Signal the waiting worker thread that it
        can continue running machine code */
@@ -2257,11 +2295,18 @@ future_t *get_pending_future(Scheme_Future_State *fs)
 {
   future_t *f;
 
-  f = fs->future_queue;
-  if (f)
-    dequeue_future(fs, f);
-
-  return f;
+  while (1) {
+    f = fs->future_queue;
+    if (f) {
+      dequeue_future(fs, f);
+      if (!scheme_custodian_is_available(f->cust)) {
+        f->status = SUSPENDED;
+      } else {
+        return f;
+      }
+    } else
+      return NULL;
+  }
 }
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/racket/src/future.h b/src/racket/src/future.h
index abeee7e2a7..61a50d6a8c 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/future.h
+++ b/src/racket/src/future.h
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ typedef void (*prim_allocate_values_t)(int, Scheme_Thread *);
 #define PENDING_OVERSIZE 4
 #define WAITING_FOR_REQUEUE 5
 #define WAITING_FOR_FSEMA 6
+#define SUSPENDED 7
 
 #define FSRC_OTHER 0
 #define FSRC_RATOR 1
@@ -56,6 +57,9 @@ typedef struct future_t {
   Scheme_Object *orig_lambda;
   void *code;
 
+  Scheme_Custodian *cust; /* an approximate custodian; don't use a future
+                             thread if this custodian is shut down */
+
   /* Runtime call stuff */
   int rt_prim; /* flag to indicate waiting for a prim call */
   int want_lw; /* flag to indicate waiting for lw capture */
@@ -178,6 +182,7 @@ void scheme_future_block_until_gc();
 void scheme_future_continue_after_gc();
 void scheme_check_future_work();
 void scheme_future_gc_pause();
+void scheme_future_check_custodians();
 
 #ifdef UNIT_TEST
 //These forwarding decls only need to be here to make 
diff --git a/src/racket/src/mzmark.c b/src/racket/src/mzmark.c
index 01e6f2e361..a5b544413c 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/mzmark.c
+++ b/src/racket/src/mzmark.c
@@ -5690,6 +5690,7 @@ static int future_SIZE(void *p, struct NewGC *gc) {
 static int future_MARK(void *p, struct NewGC *gc) {
   future_t *f = (future_t *)p;
   gcMARK2(f->orig_lambda, gc);
+  gcMARK2(f->cust, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_s0, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_t0, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_S0, gc);
@@ -5721,6 +5722,7 @@ static int future_MARK(void *p, struct NewGC *gc) {
 static int future_FIXUP(void *p, struct NewGC *gc) {
   future_t *f = (future_t *)p;
   gcFIXUP2(f->orig_lambda, gc);
+  gcFIXUP2(f->cust, gc);
   gcFIXUP2(f->arg_s0, gc);
   gcFIXUP2(f->arg_t0, gc);
   gcFIXUP2(f->arg_S0, gc);
diff --git a/src/racket/src/mzmarksrc.c b/src/racket/src/mzmarksrc.c
index 16cdbc1091..e0708ad259 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/mzmarksrc.c
+++ b/src/racket/src/mzmarksrc.c
@@ -2332,6 +2332,7 @@ future {
  mark:
   future_t *f = (future_t *)p;
   gcMARK2(f->orig_lambda, gc);
+  gcMARK2(f->cust, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_s0, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_t0, gc);
   gcMARK2(f->arg_S0, gc);
diff --git a/src/racket/src/schpriv.h b/src/racket/src/schpriv.h
index 700786a933..dea51b9784 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/schpriv.h
+++ b/src/racket/src/schpriv.h
@@ -589,6 +589,8 @@ extern void scheme_flatten_config(Scheme_Config *c);
 
 extern Scheme_Object *scheme_apply_thread_thunk(Scheme_Object *rator);
 
+Scheme_Custodian* scheme_custodian_extract_reference(Scheme_Custodian_Reference *mr);
+
 /*========================================================================*/
 /*                       hash tables and globals                          */
 /*========================================================================*/
diff --git a/src/racket/src/thread.c b/src/racket/src/thread.c
index 3530d5f73d..28bb1c7148 100644
--- a/src/racket/src/thread.c
+++ b/src/racket/src/thread.c
@@ -1106,7 +1106,8 @@ static void managed_object_gone(void *o, void *mr)
     remove_managed(mr, o, NULL, NULL);
 }
 
-int scheme_custodian_is_available(Scheme_Custodian *m)
+int scheme_custodian_is_available(Scheme_Custodian *m) XFORM_SKIP_PROC 
+/* may be called from a future thread */
 {
   if (m->shut_down)
     return 0;
@@ -1318,6 +1319,10 @@ Scheme_Thread *scheme_do_close_managed(Scheme_Custodian *m, Scheme_Exit_Closer_F
     m = next_m;
   }
 
+#ifdef MZ_USE_FUTURES
+  scheme_future_check_custodians();
+#endif
+
   return kill_self;
 }
 
@@ -1431,6 +1436,15 @@ static Scheme_Object *custodian_close_all(int argc, Scheme_Object *argv[])
   return scheme_void;
 }
 
+Scheme_Custodian* scheme_custodian_extract_reference(Scheme_Custodian_Reference *mr)
+{
+  return CUSTODIAN_FAM(mr);
+}
+
+int scheme_custodian_is_shut_down(Scheme_Custodian* c)
+{
+  return c->shut_down;
+}
 
 static Scheme_Object *extract_thread(Scheme_Object *o)
 {