Schuylkill County Commissioners approved a contract renewal with Clinton County Correctional Facility, Lock Haven, to provide temporary inmate housing.
The contract is good from Sept. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028. Schuylkill County can house inmates there for $73 per day.
There are similar deals in place with Northumberland and Centre County. In Northumberland, Schuylkill County pays $72 per day and in Centre, it’s $75 per day.
Commissioners renewed the contract with Northumberland County back in June.
In August, Schuylkill County housed 63 inmates in facilities other than its own, including 11 at Clinton County. Another 28 were in Northumberland and 24 in Centre.
Schuylkill County houses inmates temporarily in other counties to alleviate any overcrowding issues.
This arrangement comes at a rather significant cost to the County government. In 2025, so far, Schuylkill County has paid $387,803.76 on temporary housing for inmates in other counties.
That figure is just one part of the equation, too. The County must also pay wages to Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Office staff who must travel to these facilities to either deliver or collect inmates for court dates back in their home county.
However, those costs have never been big enough to justify constructing a new prison or creating a pre-release prison that’s often been discussed at the Courthouse.
In August, alone, it cost $864,928.37 to operate Schuylkill County Prison, including the cost of temporary housing. Nearly 67% of that cost was consumed by staffing last month.
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