{"id":236952,"date":"2025-10-27T07:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=236952"},"modified":"2025-12-02T12:30:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:30:10","slug":"mpa-alum-gains-insights-from-norways-correctional-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/10\/mpa-alum-gains-insights-from-norways-correctional-model\/","title":{"rendered":"MPA Alum Gains Insights From Norway\u2019s Correctional Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

The handshakes were among the first things that stood out\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>Chidi\u00a0Nwuneli\u00a0\u201925 MPA<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Norway\u2019s correctional system, incarcerated individuals\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0confined behind bars. On this day, they greet their visitors warmly \u2013 with handshakes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That simple gesture of human connection set the tone for the\u00a0<\/span>International Justice Exchange\u2019s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0recent immersion trip to Norway,\u00a0where\u00a0Nwuneli\u00a0and other\u00a0stakeholders from Connecticut\u00a0explored correctional models that emphasize dignity, trust, and rehabilitation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have this perception of what an incarcerated person looks like,\u201d says\u00a0Nwuneli, a recent graduate of\u00a0<\/span>UConn\u2019s School of Public Policy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and a current grants and contracts specialist at the\u00a0<\/span>Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM). \u201cIn Norway, the focus is on humanizing the person, not the punishment.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0International Justice\u00a0Exchange, supported by\u00a0UConn\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(IMRP),\u00a0helps Connecticut leaders\u00a0develop\u00a0and implement effective, humane laws and policies, and supports correctional staff in adopting practices that strengthen the state\u2019s justice system and improve outcomes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Held\u00a0Sept. 7-12,\u00a0the\u00a0recent\u00a0trip\u00a0offered participants an in-depth look at the Norwegian Correctional Service.\u00a0It was coordinated\u00a0by IMRP in partnership with\u00a0<\/span>Amend<\/span><\/a>, a program based at the University of California, San Francisco.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For\u00a0Nwuneli,\u00a0the visit\u00a0offered an opportunity to gather insights and reflect on\u00a0global practices that could inform the\u00a0funding and policy work he manages at home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing it work somewhere else might inspire us to reflect on what we\u2019re doing here,\u201d\u00a0he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

From UConn to Public Service<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A New York City native,\u00a0Nwuneli\u00a0moved to Hartford\u00a0for his first job at OPM after\u00a0earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in political science from Quinnipiac University in 2020.\u00a0His early work focused on\u00a0criminal justice projects related to the COVID-19 response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He pursued his Master of Public Administration (MPA) at UConn\u2019s School of Public Policy, earning his degree in 2025, while continuing full-time at OPM.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUConn\u2019s program stood out for its strength in public finance and government project management, which aligned with my interests,\u201d\u00a0he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today,\u00a0Nwuneli\u00a0manages a portfolio of federal and state grants supporting reentry services, community-based violence prevention, behavioral health interventions, and other justice initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur division\u2019s work includes all criminal justice areas from diversion and pretrial to post incarceration,\u201d he\u00a0says. \u201cSeeing how Norway approaches all stages of the justice system, both before and after incarceration, was invaluable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Connecticut
Nwuneli, right, with other Connecticut stakeholders on their trip, which was supported by UConn’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy in partnership with Amend. (Photo by John Lucas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lessons in Humanity<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nwuneli\u00a0was joined on the trip by other Connecticut stakeholders, including\u00a0OPM undersecretary for criminal justice Daniel Karpowitz and\u00a0personnel\u00a0from the Connecticut Department of Correction (CTDOC).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While in Norway,\u00a0they\u00a0toured several facilities, including Ringerike, Indre\u00a0\u00d8stfold, Halden, Ila, and\u00a0Bast\u00f8y\u00a0prisons. They\u00a0also\u00a0met with correctional officers and incarcerated individuals,\u00a0participated\u00a0in workshops on rehabilitation practices, and shared\u00a0a meal\u00a0prepared by\u00a0those\u00a0in custody.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThey have access to fresh food and cook communally,\u201d\u00a0Nwuneli\u00a0says. \u201cThey have far lower levels of chronic illness in their incarcerated population than what we accept here.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy, participants\u00a0observed\u00a0how correctional officers receive two years of training,\u00a0far longer than the\u00a014 weeks\u00a0typical in Connecticut.\u00a0Many Norwegian officers come from backgrounds in social work, education, or mental health, according to\u00a0Nwuneli.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey bring those experiences and became corrections officers trained to help people,\u201d\u00a0he explains. \u201cIn the U.S., most of our corrections officers lack that experience and have to be taught the humane side.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bringing It Home<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

While this was\u00a0Nwuneli\u2019s\u00a0first immersion trip to Norway, it was the third for\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Clark<\/span><\/b>, director of\u00a0UConn IMRP.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clark first visited Norway with the International Justice Exchange in 2022.\u00a0Since then, he and IMRP have\u00a0formalized the partnership with Amend,\u00a0expanding\u00a0opportunities\u00a0for\u00a0UConn and\u00a0other\u00a0Connecticut\u00a0public institutions\u00a0to engage\u00a0in\u00a0cross-cultural learning with\u00a0international collaborators.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis trip allowed us to visit different facilities and to spend more time understanding how training at the academy is fully integrated into the correctional system,\u201d says Clark.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In November, another delegation will return to\u00a0Norway\u00a0as\u00a0part of ongoing efforts to engage with international partners and bring best practices back home, according to Clark.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach time we go, we gain valuable feedback about our work in Connecticut relative to other states and jurisdictions,\u201d\u00a0he says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The experience was particularly\u00a0informative\u00a0for\u00a0Nwuneli, who noted that\u00a0incarcerated individuals in Norway remain active citizens\u00a0\u2014\u00a0with the right to vote\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and face no permanent stigma upon release.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou did your time, and you\u2019re done,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0no post-incarceration registry or \u2018Scarlet Letter\u2019 following you.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nwuneli\u00a0says his experience from\u00a0Norway\u00a0\u2014 and his ongoing connections with UConn \u2014\u00a0will help guide his work in Connecticut aimed at improving reentry outcomes and rehabilitation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can solve this on one trip, but I do think it puts us in the right direction,\u201d he\u00a0concludes. \u201cThe insights gained will help guide how we shape and fund pilot programs moving forward.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through the International Justice Exchange, coordinated by UConn\u2019s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Connecticut agencies \u2014 including Chidi Nwuneli \u201925 MPA \u2014 are learning firsthand how international models can improve justice at home<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":236954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-236952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-27 12:51:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236952"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237017,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236952\/revisions\/237017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/236954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236952"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=236952"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=236952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}