Oregon prisons will cut visitation hours to curb overtime costs, DOC says
Families and friends of the 1,800 people incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem will soon have only four days per week to visit inmates as part of a reduction in visitation hours the state’s prison system announced Thursday, March 5.
The statewide cost-saving measure will affect hours for nearly all the prisons in the Oregon Department of Corrections system, including the three in Salem.
New schedules will begin at the state penitentiary and other Salem prisons on April 1.
The move is intended to save money by reducing overtime hours for correctional employees who staff visitations, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amber Campbell.
The state penitentiary, Oregon’s only maximum-security prison, will have visitation available 26 hours per week under the new schedule, Saturday through Tuesday.
That’s down from seven days per week and 45 hours for people in the general population sector of the prison.
Oregon State Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison, will offer six fewer hours per week. Santiam Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison, will offer nine fewer.
At OSCI, that means visitors will only be allowed Saturday through Tuesday. At Santiam, they’ll be restricted to the weekend.
A full schedule of the new visitation hours is here.
Around 3,100 people are incarcerated in Salem’s three prisons. Campbell didn’t immediately have information available about how many visitors those facilities currently receive.
Nationwide, about a third of people incarcerated in state facilities get a visitor in a given month.
The change is part of a broader set of cost-cutting measures the corrections department began after Gov. Tina Kotek directed state agencies to come up with budget reductions in September 2025.
In a March newsletter update, ODOC explained that like other state agencies, the department is facing “serious budget challenges.”
The corrections department’s budget is about $2.8 billion dollars for the 2025-27 biennium, according to that update.
“DOC is facing rising healthcare expenses, deferred maintenance costs, higher operating costs and overtime exceeding budgeted levels,” Campbell said in an email. “The majority of DOC’s budget supports employee staffing, 24/7, 365 days a year. Overtime remains a major cost driver, particularly due to increased protected leave usage and medical and hospital trips, both of which are largely outside of our direct control.”
The department employs about 4,500 people, half of whom are security staff.
Campbell said reductions in visiting hours will allow prisons to maintain yard and day room time as well as educational programming for incarcerated people.
ODOC wrote that the reductions in visiting hours are part of a broader budget saving effort. Campbell said the department has also delayed hiring and restricted travel, among other measures.
The department does not have a projection for how much the visitation reductions will save, Campbell said. It also doesn’t have a specific savings target.
The reductions are supposed to be temporary, and will be evaluated by the agency after six months. Campbell said that would include reviewing the number of visits on weekends versus weekdays.
In its release, the department also stated the importance of visits to the wellbeing inmates and their capacity for successful reentry.
Family contact while incarcerated has been linked to better outcomes for incarcerated people after they are released.
“Upcoming adjustments to visiting are a temporary, fiscally responsible response to current budget constraints, not a change in our values,” Campbell said. “DOC is committed to restoring visiting opportunities as financial conditions improve.”
Correction: This article listed the days visitors will be allowed at Oregon State Correctional Institution incorrectly. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.
Contact reporter Skeet Starr: [email protected].
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Skeet Starr joined Salem Reporter in 2026 as a multimedia intern. A senior at Willamette University, he is also the editor-in-chief of The Collegian, the university's independent student newspaper.
5 Comments
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“The department does NOT HAVE A PROJECTION for how much the visitation reductions will save, Campbell said. It also DOESN’T HAVE A SPECIFIC SAVINGS TARGET.”
“In its release, the department also stated the IMPORTANCE OF VISITS TO THE WELLBEING OF INMATES and THEIR CAPACITY FOR SUCCESSFUL REENTRY.”
Wow. Just wow. Am I cross-eyed or did I just read that?
OSCI visitors will be limited to Saturday through Tuesday, not Wednesday, as Skeet Starr reported. Thanks!
Carl Moseley
[email protected]
Thanks, Carl – we’ve fixed that.
This is such BS. Why not ask and demand answers? This is why the State/DOC gets away with things as the media don’t demand answers.
No projection of savings??
No specific savings target??
Evidence based practices show that family contact during incarceration significantly reduces recidivism, lowers technical violations, decreases in-prison misconduct and aids in successful community reintegration. (CSG Justice Center.org) There are many websites that speak to this.
Also, anyone who has worked within government knows how the “its just temporary” typically goes.
I would like to know the facts/stats/ numbers.
How many visitors come in during each visiting day and time? (All 7 days)
Where could the most cost effective changes be made?
How much OT is allocated specifically for the visiting desk and visiting room?
How much money will be saved by the reduction of these specific visiting days and times?
Will the 2 C.O.’s at the visiting desk and the 1 or 2 in the visiting room be reassigned and still work OT?
If so, why?
Were other options considered that are as cost/savings effective that would not have a negative impact on AIC’s?
What were these options and why were they not chosen?
I acknowledge that the decision to reduce visiting time for AIC’s may be the best option the decision makers felt they had to meet their budget. If that it their truth, its only fair they share how they got to that decision with their constituents.
Respectfully,
Christina Halpin-Laurido