you must first respond to the following questions. At a minimum, your response should answer all components of each question and should be close to a single page response (i.e., 400 words). 

1. Over the past decade, the United States correctional system has seen a consistent and steady decline in jail and prison incarceration rates. However, despite an overall decline, females represent the fastest-growing correctional population. Identify two possible explanations that might account for the increase in female correctional population.
2. Prisoner reentry has emerged as a major concern in recent years. Accordingly, many states have developed reentry programming. First, identify the primary goal of reentry programming. Second, describe how a program might be organized to achieve the stated goal while also taking into consideration responsivity factors (e.g., sex/gender) as applied to this week’s readings. This can be both in-prison and post-release correctional programs/interventions.
3. Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are considered a “special population” in the corrections system. Why has the proportion of the correctional population with SMI grown during the era of mass incarceration? What administrative and management challenges are posed by this group within prisons? What are some negative consequences that may result from the incarceration of offenders with SMI?