What Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) Is and How It Can Affect Your Loved One

Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) is a semi-independent organization connected to the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). It has its own administrator, who reports directly to the DOC director. What matters for families is what OCE actually does. Its mission is to promote public safety by giving adults in custody (AICs) meaningful work experience within a self-sustaining organization. OCE runs training and work programs inside Oregon prisons, where participants build both marketable technical skills and soft skills like communication and teamwork.

OCE is funded differently than most government programs. By statute, it runs entirely on revenue from its own products and services. It receives no general fund allocations. That self-sustaining model is central to how OCE operates. And while OCE is semi-independent, its administrator still reports to the DOC director, so it sits within the larger DOC system while running its own enterprise-style operations.

Program Types

• ✓ Contact centers (customer-service style work that can build communication and workplace professionalism)
• ✓ Sewing, embroidery, and textiles (production processes and quality standards)
• ✓ Wood fabrication (shop skills and safe tool use)
• ✓ Upholstery (hands-on trade skills and attention to detail)
• ✓ Commercial laundry (industrial workflow, sorting, and production pace)
• ✓ Printing and mail fulfillment (process discipline and accuracy)
• ✓ Metal fabrication (trade skills and safety routines)

OCE programs aren't just "something to do" during the day. They're structured training and work assignments inside Oregon prisons, with an emphasis on skills a person can carry with them after release. That includes technical skills tied to a specific trade, plus the soft skills employers look for everywhere: reliability, teamwork, communication, sticking with a routine. If your loved one is in an OCE program (or trying to get into one), ask what shop or assignment they're in. The day-to-day experience and skills they practice can look very different from one program to the next.

OCE reports a 13% recidivism rate for adults in custody who stay in an OCE training program for at least six months. For your family, this is one of the clearest reasons OCE matters. Staying in a program long enough to build real habits and skills can become a meaningful part of someone's reentry plan, alongside whatever other supports they need when they come home.

That recidivism figure reflects OCE's stated purpose: promoting public safety through meaningful work experience in a self-sustaining organization. In plain terms, the model is work plus training, delivered inside prison, aimed at helping someone build marketable skills. If you're looking for signs that participation is helping, pay attention to what your loved one is learning and whether they're able to stay in the program consistently. Real work expectations combined with skills practice is the core of what OCE provides.

1. Ask if your loved one is eligible or already enrolled. Find out whether they can participate in an OCE program right now, or if there is a waitlist.
2. Get the exact program name and assignment. OCE runs multiple program types (for example, contact centers, textiles, printing and mail fulfillment, laundry, wood, metal, upholstery). Knowing which one they are in helps you understand the skills they are practicing.
3. Ask what skills are being taught and how progress is tracked. OCE programs are meant to teach both technical and soft skills. Ask what that looks like in the specific shop or assignment.
4. Confirm expected program length. OCE reports its 13% recidivism rate for people who stay in a training program for at least six months, so it is worth asking what it typically takes to stay in the program that long.
5. Ask about program capacity where they are housed. OCE averaged 1,426 participants per month in FY 2020–2021, supported by 92 state employees. At any one facility, availability can depend on how many positions are open and how many people are trying to get in.
6. Follow up with OCE using the public contact options. If you cannot get a clear answer through normal facility channels, you can contact OCE directly with focused questions about program types and general participation.

If you need to reach Oregon Corrections Enterprises, here are the public contact options OCE provides: PO Box 12849, Salem, OR 97309. Physical location (by appointment only): 3691 State Street, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 800.776.7712 or 503-428-5500. OCE also lists leadership contacts: Director Colette S. Peters at (503) 945-0927, and Administrator Melanie Doolin at (503) 910-7094.

Quick Facts

• ✓ Self-funded by statute through sales of products and services. No general fund allocations.
• ✓ FY 2020–2021: 92 state employees, averaged 1,426 incarcerated participants per month (DOC population cited as 11,786 in June 2021).
• ✓ OCE reports a 13% recidivism rate for people who stay in an OCE training program for at least six months.