Role of a US-Norway Exchange in Placing Health and Well-Being at the Center of US Prison Reform (2020)

Living and working conditions in many US correctional facilities are damaging to the health of incarcerated people and correctional staff. In response, experts have called for efforts to improve the health of incarcerated people, and correctional systems have invested in “officer wellness” programs. Some correctional systems outside the United States have taken a different approach to these challenges: developing a correctional culture (defined here as the values, beliefs, and norms of a correctional institution or system) that deliberately puts health, humanity, and rehabilitation at the forefront of correctional practice. We describe the feasibility and early results of Amend, our program adapting practices from one such system, the Norwegian Correctional Service, for implementation in four facilities in one US state correctional system housing residents of all security levels, backgrounds, and needs.