In July, the state Department of Corrections lifted the final requirement of an agreement aimed at relieving overcrowding at Schuylkill County's jail.

Then, the population stood at 254.The peak census in August was 302. As of Wednesday, the population was 271, and with an influx expected after plea hearings on Sept. 27, officials are concerned.At a county Prison Board meeting, District Attorney Christine A. Holman asked how the county could speed the flow of inmates out of jail.Prison Board and Commissioners' Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. suggested a meeting among Holman, the Adult Probation officer stationed in the jail, Sheriff Joseph Groody and Warden Eugene Berdanier to review the current process and discuss how to make it work more efficiently.Halcovage said the board had agreed to take measures to keep the population of the aging jail on Sanderson Street in Pottsville at 240 to allow for surges in inmates resulting from drug busts.To keep the numbers down, the county has been housing inmates in other counties at a cost of $60-$65 per inmate per day.As of Wednesday, 37 inmates were housed in other counties.Nine were in Berks County, four in Centre County, one in Columbia County, eight in Lackawanna County, and 15 in Snyder County.Berdanier said the ability of the other prisons to take Schuylkill inmates varies from day to day.Further, he said, only Snyder and Lackawanna counties will accept female inmates.The state in May 2016 ordered the county to stop committing inmates whose sentences fell between six months to five years until it consistently kept its average monthly population at or below 277. That restriction was lifted in August 2016.Looking at long-range inmate population control, the county hired Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates of Mechanicsburg in June for a proposal to update a 2008 needs assessment it had done so the county can more accurately determine the specifications for an intermediate punishment center.Also on Wednesday, the prison board heard an update on the YES program from Northeast PA Manufacturers and Employers Council Executive Director Courtney Fasnacht.The pilot program began in June, with 27 inmates have participated.The program, which concludes at the end of September, offers two-hour sessions aimed at sharpening inmates' social skills to prepare them for the workplace.The sessions include business etiquette, interviewing, customer service, financial literacy, time management and goal setting.It also includes substance abuse and wellness.