When the original correctional institutions were being developed the blueprints never addressed what features would be required with a female inmate population. Mainly, because the female inmate population as so low back then. However, now that we have seen a considerable increase in the number of females placed within the correctional system, the need to meet the needs of these inmates has been a challenge that has yet been remedied. In 2009, 114,852 women were incarcerated within the state and federal prisons (Schmalleger, 2012). This accounted for 7% of the inmates currently serving time for criminal charges. Women in prison have special needs that are not always readily available within the facility in which they are serving time. Conditions such as pregnancy and prenatal care which were not taken into consideration as prisons were built, account for a large portion of funding being allocated to health care of both the mother and child, as well as placement procedures to place the child after birth. Potential mental problems, such as post pardon depress that is amplified as the mother will be separated from her child and now having to recover within the confines of a prison. The money directed to the overall care and treatment for pregnant women is taken from funding to contribute to rehabilitation of inmates. This is not to mention the money that will have to be
When the original correctional institutions were being developed the blueprints never addressed what features would be required with a female inmate population. Mainly, because the female inmate population as so low back then. However, now that we have seen a considerable increase in the number of females placed within the correctional system, the need to meet the needs of these inmates has been a challenge that has yet been remedied. In 2009, 114,852 women were incarcerated within the state and federal prisons (Schmalleger, 2012). This accounted for 7% of the inmates currently serving time for criminal charges. Women in prison have special needs that are not always readily available within the facility in which they are serving time. Conditions such as pregnancy and prenatal care which were not taken into consideration as prisons were built, account for a large portion of funding being allocated to health care of both the mother and child, as well as placement procedures to place the child after birth. Potential mental problems, such as post pardon depress that is amplified as the mother will be separated from her child and now having to recover within the confines of a prison. The money directed to the overall care and treatment for pregnant women is taken from funding to contribute to rehabilitation of inmates. This is not to mention the money that will have to be