John A. Shuford receives the Willam A. Vrooman “Exemplar of Justice Award” from the Delaware Center for Justice at their 91st. Annual Meeting for his many decades’ work on the Alternatives to Violence Project with prison populations. The Delaware Center for Justice gives the annual award to an individual who has contributed significantly to the state’s criminal justice system. AVP has been established in Delaware prisons for more than 20 years. Delaware Gov. Jack A. Markell, a previous recipient, presented the award to Shuford on June 3, 2011

From the presentation of the award:

John A. Shuford, a long time advocate for prison reform, introduced the Alternatives to Violence Project [AVP] in Delaware prisons in 1990. This cost- effective all volunteer program trains inmates to facilitate workshops designed to transform inmates’ attitudes in a way that will help support successful reentry. More than 3,500 inmates have participated in the program, and follow- up has shown that AVP helps reduce recidivism and bad behavior write-ups significantly.

In addition to coordinating AVP in Delaware, Mr. Shuford has served as President of AVP/USA and is currently Vice President of AVP International.

He has trained corrections staff in Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and has trained staff in the National Institute of Corrections. He was honored by the International Association of Correctional Training Personnel with its Award of Excellence in 2004.

Mr. Shuford has led Conflict Resolution Professional Delegations to South Africa, Russia, and China, and he has facilitated workshops in Israel, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, and Kenya.

Until this year, he was the volunteer Executive Director of the Delaware Reentry Consortium and helped establish a Reentry Sector in the non-profit and faith based communities, which has supported and worked with Governor Markell’s IADAPT program. He has also worked with Rev. Paula Maiorano to establish an effective mentoring program for inmates returning to our communities.

Mr. Shuford, along with others, is currently developing a Trauma Healing workshop for the women at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution, a workshop that will effectively help women deal with what is often the root cause of their being in prison.

The Delaware Center for Justice 91st Annual Meeting.
Delaware Gov. Jack A. Markell, a previous recipient, presented the award to Shuford on June 3, 2011 .