Conjugal visitation has been eradicated except for in just a few states in the us . Conjugal visitation has many benefits, both for the prison, the inmates and the families. For the spouses and children, there are obvious benefits to “extended family visitation/conjugal visits”but what about the inmates ? For the inmates able to prove they’re not a security threat and work their way to an incentive level there is no reason why there should not be some type of family building program that includes conjugal visitation. I believe this would be very helpful for the inmates to work harder, and start focusing on life on the outside for those who have a release date. And for those who don’t have a release date would help them stay out of trouble, and would result in less violence and conduct violations. I’m not suggesting that everyone should just be given conjugal’s off the bat, but I do think there should be an opportunity to work for these types of things in Oregon . As a wife of an inmate this is not just about sex. This is about opportunities for us to bond as a family opportunities for us to grow our family and opportunities for him to focus on his family on the outside and not his family on the inside. It’s easy for inmates to get caught up in being in prison, but the more time they can spend with their wives and husbands and kids the more likely they are to have a successful release and Parole. Oregon DOC has a lot of practices that weakens  marriage and family bonds … the problem with that is when they are released. Often they have no one to pick them up, or the marriage/home life is so strained that it’s not always the smoothest  transition home, which I believe results in recidivism! I know Oregon DOC does have marriage and family programs but not everyone is able to participate in them and none of them offer extended, family visitation or conjugal’s of any kind I’m an adult and so I’m just going to say it sex and intimacy is important in any marriage and ours is no different. It’s my opinion that if it was at least available to work towards it could be a very valuable incentive for inmates .  There are way more benefits for the inmates and their families and the state of Oregon in the long run. Including financial gain there is not a single spouse that I know that wouldn’t pay to be part of a family building program like this if there was one. One argument that I have heard against conjugal visitation is that if inmates have too many privileges, they will continue to come back over and over again. Then don’t make it a privilege make it a highly regulated incentive that is not easy to obtain, but is possible! 
for many of us we hold our marriages together the best we can just to make it to the point where we can pick up our loved one from those gates.  I’m writing this because I think it could change the lives of all of these families, and also help the prisons run smoother the most important part of a “correctional” facility should be preparing inmates to return to society that is and always will be easier when they have a strong, family bond and support system.