What is the lag time between sending and receiving information from my participant?

Ideally, your participant will write a section of his business plan one week; it will be sent to you the next week and he will have the chance to look over your edits the following week. Remember that is the ideal situation! If there is a prison event that week or other events that affect the class schedule, such as a lockdown or hurricane evacuation, the advising timeline may shift accordingly.


What do I need to do if I am going to be away from email during the class, and I cannot complete the assignments on time?

If you know ahead of time that you are going to be away from email for a significant amount of time, please reconsider signing up to be an Advisor. Our participants depend on you so your availability and access to email are necessary.

If you are only going to be away from email for a week or two, please communicate this to the Advising Program Manager ahead of time so you can make alternate arrangements. Ideally, you will find a replacement for yourself that week so your participant will see no interruption in the advising process.


What happens if I submit an assignment past the deadline?

We understand that life happens. Work and family situations can disrupt even our most important plans! That said; remember that your participant is waiting on your feedback to make progress on his business plan. Please make every attempt to respect the deadlines and your participant even when other things come up.


Will I have the opportunity to work with my participant post release, if there is mutual interest?

We highly encourage you to stay involved with your participant even after the class has ended; however, since letters are not allowed by PEP, prison visits are the only way to stay in touch until your participant is released. We would love for you to continue the coaching process during prison visits to the next class’s events.

You can release your contact information to be given to your participant upon his release from prison. That puts your contact information in his hands so he is free to get in touch with you. We encourage you to stay involved with him in the role of a coach and friend; however, you need to be smart about your involvement.
  • Women, we would encourage you to just stick with working with the men inside prison. Our female staff members never visit the halfway houses alone, ride in a car alone or hang out in private with PEP graduates, and neither should you. This is in no way a sign of distrust or lack of respect, it’s just smart. Our program as a whole is more important than any single relationship so please respect our philosophy on this. If you have any questions at all, contact a PEP staff member at 832-767-0928.

  • Men, feel free to stay in touch with your participant upon release. After four weeks of living right in the free world, our participants are eligible to apply for an official mentor. It would be great if you and your participant joined that program when he’s ready so we are able to provide support to the both of you for the relationship.

  • If you stay involved post release, never invite the graduate into your home, as that is against TDCJ rules.

  • If the graduate ever asks you for something, speak about it directly with a PEP employee. He should never ask you for money for himself or his family, and he should never use guilt or manipulation to get something from you. If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsure, please contact a PEP employee at 832-767-0928. Again, be smart.

What if the role of a Business Plan Advisor interferes too much with my study and/or work time?

If you don’t have time to commit to this process, please don’t sign up! Again, your participant is going to depend on you so if you don’t feel as though you’ll be able to be dependable, please don’t sign up!


Are participants matched to only one Business Plan Advisors?

That depends on how many volunteers sign up to be Advisors. During the recruiting process, we aim to get at least as many Advisors as we have participants. If our numbers are low, we may ask some Advisors to take on two participants. If our numbers are high, we may assign two Advisors to the same participant.

We feel that two advisors/participant is a great situation for the participant because he’ll get twice as much good feedback on this business plan. However, this in no way diminishes the need for each advisor to still complete all assignments on time.


Why do some changes I make to assignments not make it into the final business plan?

There can be multiple reasons why your suggestions didn’t get implemented.
  • The participant didn’t agree with your changes so he didn’t include them in the document.

  • The participant did not get enough computer time the week that he received your feedback, and he wasn’t able to implement your suggestions.

  • The participant forgot to include that change.
Regardless of the actual reason, please continue to make suggestions based on your best judgment, and your participant will have another opportunity to review your feedback before his plan is finalized.


If I find a lot of information on my participant’s business, how can I send the information other than via e-mail?

If you have a lot of market research or related business plan information you would to send to your participant, and email won’t work, please feel free to send the information to our Houston office. Make sure to include the participant’s name and the name of his business.

PEP
Attn: Business Plan Advising
PO Box 926274
Houston, TX 77292

Remember, no materials that have a monetary value or maps are allowed in the prison, and you cannot send gifts to the participants. Books and other information relevant to the participants can be donated to PEP library, in honor of the participant, but they cannot become the property of the participant, per prison rules. Donated items can be sent to the main PEP office: 4140 Director’s Row, Suite B, Houston, TX, 77092.