Under Director Ward’s leadership, ABPP focuses on job training, substance use treatment and mental health needs to position Alabama as a national leader in reducing recidivism
MONTGOMERY – Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles Director Cam Ward will receive the 2025 Pillar of Excellence Award from the Addiction Policy Forum next week.
Director Ward will be one of seven national leaders – including U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) – to receive the Addiction Policy Forum’s annual award during an event at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on December 2.
The distinction recognizes leaders whose work transforms the landscape of addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. It honors policymakers and organizations in criminal justice who demonstrate exceptional leadership in improving response to individuals with substance use disorders and communities in need.
“We’re proud to represent Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey and our excellent officers and staff by bringing this award back to the Bureau,” Director Ward said. “Alabama’s leaders have been staunch supporters of our work while our team remains dedicated to these programs that lead to reduced crime, better outcomes and safer communities across the state.”
Director Ward has served as the Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) since 2020 – the same year he was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey as a member of her cabinet. In this role, he is responsible for all agency operations in support of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Public safety is the Bureau’s primary mission and lowering recidivism has been a core driver to achieving that goal.
During his tenure, Director Ward championed programs that enhance public safety and reduce recidivism while also strengthening the workforce through evidence-based reentry programming offered at a vast network of Day Reporting Centers and the Perry County PREP Center. Programs at these facilities provide comprehensive reentry and rehabilitation services to probationers and parolees across Alabama. A major component of these programs includes job training and education, which complements the counseling and substance use treatment, to give formerly incarcerated Alabamians the tools they need to succeed in reentry.
The PREP Center creates meaningful opportunities for individuals to rebuild their lives and make positive contributions to their communities. Since opening in 2022, the PREP Center maintains a zero percent recidivism rate and has helped more than 400 people find a positive path post-incarceration. It takes a comprehensive approach to ensure participants are ready to succeed in jobs, in recovery or with their families after prison through programming that encourages incarceration diversion as a sanction response and by offering an option for individuals to receive support services and resolve barriers to successful reintegration. The primary program providers at the PREP Center are GEO Group under the advisement of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, the Alabama Community College System and J.F. Ingram State Technical College, and Alabama Power. The model will be replicated across Alabama — including a soon-to-open facility dedicated to women.
“PREP has become a best-practice and blueprint for what’s working in reentry,” ABPP Director Cam Ward said. “This is a life-changing program that provides the tools, knowledge and guidance – whether that’s job training, mental health counseling, or substance use treatment – for success in life after prison. Of course, this model and its results are only possible thanks to our great partners and our folks on the frontlines.”
These programs are also a part of the Bureau’s commitment to Reentry 2030, a nationwide initiative aimed at scaling reentry success for people transitioning from incarceration to their communities. Through this initiative, Alabama aims to reduce recidivism by 50 percent by 2030. Reentry 2030 is led by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Correctional Leaders Association, and JustLeadershipUSA.
Director Ward has supported evidence-based criminal justice policy throughout his career. First elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2002, Director Ward served two terms before voters elected him to the Alabama Senate in 2010. As a state senator, Director Ward represented parts of Shelby, Bibb, and Chilton County. He was re-elected in 2012 and served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a role he held for nearly a decade.
In the Alabama State Senate, he championed the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), a federal program that provides small grants to help states harness the power of data to solve urgent criminal justice challenges. Using the findings from JRI, Director Ward led landmark legislation that included policies to strengthen community-based supervision, prioritize prison space for people convicted of violent and dangerous crimes, and promote evidence-based services and treatment for people receiving supervision in the community.
The Addiction Policy Forum is a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to ending addiction and helping families and communities affected by substance use disorder. Through education, advocacy, and innovation, the group works to advance effective prevention, treatment, recovery, and criminal justice solutions.