PREP Program
What is the PREP Program?
A pathway to healing, growth, and the future you choose
The PREP program is a unique, voluntary, and free initiative that provides counseling and reentry planning guidance for individuals returning to specific NY counties. Our mission is to assist those interested in personal growth and committed to avoiding future involvement in the criminal legal system. We are dedicated to helping those who are committed to helping themselves. The PREP program is designed for individuals seeking a ‘hand-up, not a hand-out.’ We provide the tools and support to make positive changes in your life, but the effort and commitment must come from you.
As a PREP participant, you’ll receive free counseling and personalized case management from one of our licensed social workers. Your PREP social worker will work closely with you to identify your short and long-term goals and develop action plans to achieve them. These goals may be job or education-related, or focus on maintaining sobriety, improving family relationships, or strengthening interpersonal skills. Your PREP social worker will help you identify immediate-release needs, such as medical or psychiatric care and shelter placement, and guide you through the steps to meet them.
As a PREP participant, you commit to continuing to work with your social worker for three years after returning home. This ongoing support is designed to provide the reassurance and help you need to reintegrate successfully into society. You will then graduate from the program with the tools and confidence to thrive beyond the bars.
Our program is for those genuinely committed to change. The PREP application process begins with a PREP application request form. Those who appear eligible will then receive a paper application. Select applicants will be offered an admission interview. Enrollment offers are reserved for applicants committed to participating in therapeutic programming and goal setting and to avoiding future involvement in the criminal legal system.
Important Considerations Before Applying
Our program is for those who are genuinely committed to change and who wish to engage in counseling. Counseling occurs through legal calls and visits while you are incarcerated, weekly in-person sessions after you are released, and through your active participation in weekly self-work written assignments as part of our year-long 12 Months of PREParation curriculum. Please make sure you meet the eligibility requirements before requesting an application. Please note that PREP does not generally provide parole support letters.
PREP Eligibility Requirements
- Individuals serving their maximum sentence are eligible.
- Individuals who will be released on parole are eligible if they have served at least one prior prison term.
- When applying, individuals must be within 6-18 months of their release date. The longer you are enrolled before release, the more prepared you will be!
- Individuals cannot have convictions for sex crimes or be registered/required to register on the sex offender registry, because the specialized therapeutic and case management services required are beyond the scope and resources currently available within our program.
- Individuals must be willing to actively participate in counseling and goal-setting for three years post-release and to complete weekly written assignments in the 12 Months of PREParation curriculum
- Individuals meeting the above requirements are eligible to apply if they are returning to one of the following counties:
Albany
Application Requests
Your future is built one step at a time. Requesting an application is the first step toward exploring the opportunity to receive the support, guidance, and resources available through PREP. Incarcerated individuals who meet PREP’s eligibility requirements may request an application by sending a letter through legal mail to:
PREP Application Requests
Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York
10 Little Britain Road, Suite 204
Newburgh, NY 12550
After your request is received, you will be sent an application request form to complete and return. Once your request form is reviewed, you will receive a response. If you appear eligible, you will receive an application and additional information about the PREP application process.
Participant Stories
“I no longer feel alone as I did before being accepted into this program… I’ve learned that there are people in this world who care and want to see me become a successful member of society. When I get released, I will be homeless. No friends. No family. No support system other than PREP. I am surely nervous, but I know Mari and PREP are here to help me re-enter society and achieve my goals, giving me hope and faith that I will be able to succeed… PREP has given me a new frame of mind. I am now able to view frustrations as obstacles that I can
choose to overcome and push forward toward my goals.”
– Cresson
“The 12 Months of PREP exercises have helped me to take a really deep look at myself and helped me to realize that I am not a piece of human garbage. I am a good man who has made bad choices in his life. I have value as a human being, and I have a lot to offer this world. With these realizations, I feel hopeful about my release.”
– Charlie
“Contentment is acceptance of your
current circumstances
Where you’re at now won’t stop your potential advances.
Whether high or low you need to strive to go
And stand up and fight
for your life’s delights,
And realize you’re so much more at your core
Than the labels in life
which have you in strife.
So please, aspire and inspire
to your heart’s desire,
And know that help is out there,
that people do care,
Willing to help you gain, in your time of pain
From here on out,
your life will never be the same.”
– John, “What PREP Means to Me”
“PREP means the world to me.
PREP is like family.”
– Shaquille
“For me, the best part of being in PREP is knowing that there are people who are devoted to helping me help myself… Since working with PREP, I can honestly say that I have been able to tear down the wall that I had built out of fear of being hurt, used, abused, or disappointed. Today, I am more open to conversations.”
– Rafael
“Most important, I think, is that PREP has given me someone to talk to who won’t judge me and is mentoring me onto a
different path.”
– Gijiuan
Manuel Figueroa PREP Award
This award was established in 2024 to honor Manny, our first PREP graduate. Since his release in 2021, Manny has remained deeply committed to sharing his experience, strength, and hope with others. He is actively involved in many efforts that positively impact his community. Manny continues to volunteer his time in various initiatives, including donating his skills and effort to beautify parks and community gardens, as well as mentoring individuals who have been formerly incarcerated. Service to others is Manny’s legacy in the PREP program. The Manuel Figueroa PREP Award was established to honor and perpetuate his legacy. The Manuel Figueroa PREP Award is given to a PREP participant who demonstrates growth in humility, gratitude, perseverance, and resilience and who, like Manny, freely shares their experience, strength, and hope for the benefit of others.
Manuel Figueroa PREP Award Recipients:
Jason Dunn, 2024
Rafael Rivera, 2025
For more information about the PREP Program, contact:
Jill Marie Nolan, LCSW
Director of Social Work
Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York
10 Little Britain Road, Suite 204
Newburgh, NY 12550
(845) 391-3110 EXT. 1504
jnolan@plsny.org