Prison is no picnic. And let’s face it; it’s not supposed to be. I recently visited the Federal Correctional Institution in Herlong, California—up in Lassen County—and while the program we were there to learn about is truly remarkable, my next biggest takeaway from the experience was that there are many good reasons to remain a law-abiding citizen.

FCI Herlong is clean, orderly, well-run and surrounded by walls, gates, fences, razor wire and guards with some serious firepower and no apparent sense of humor. People from all over the nation are sentenced to this medium security prison. Most of the inmates will serve their terms and eventually be released. And that’s why the Lassen County Child Support program at Herlong is so important.