After dipping during the summer, Schuylkill County's prison population is again edging upward.

But the number of inmate remains well under the 277 cap imposed Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to avoid overcrowding.As of Wednesday morning, the total number of inmates was 239, up from a low of 210 in August.The county has doubled-down on its efforts to keep the population down since the state in May ordered it to stop accepting new inmates until it got the inmate population below a daily average of 277.The state lifted the restriction on August, after months of compliance.To comply with the May order, the county began housing overflow inmates at prisons in other counties.But the solution is costly: It costs Schuylkill $60 a day per inmate to house them outside the county.As of Wednesday, 38 inmates were housed in other counties, Warden Eugene Berdanier said at a Prison Board meeting.There were 13 in Columbia County, 11 in Centre County, nine in Delaware County, and five in Berks County.If needed, Snyder and Clinton counties will also accept Schuylkill inmates, he said.The county is moving toward longer term solutions, including a drug court expected to begin early next year, and a facility that would house inmates transitioning back into the community.Prison Board Chairman and county Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. said the county is also incorporating programs, both in the prison and post-release, that help people prepare to re-enter society.