The process of moving prisoners to alleviate overcrowding at Schuylkill County Prison is taking longer than some anticipated.

Last November, the county commissioners made deals with two correctional facilities to temporarily move 40 prisoners from the overcrowded Schuylkill County Prison to other facilities in the state.But jail officials say that finding qualified candidates for transfer has been more difficult than expected. On top of that, the jails taking in the prisoners have the right to reject anyone that they deem unqualified.The issue came up on Wednesday at the regular meeting of the county's prison board. Warden Eugene Berdanier said that only three women - of the 52 currently incarcerated at Schuylkill - are eligible for transfer."We were hoping originally to get much more than three people, but we hope the next term in court will produce more candidates. And, we are expecting some of these people to be paroled in the near future, to reduce the female population," Berdanier said.As of Wednesday, there were 304 people incarcerated at Schuylkill, according to Berdanier - 252 males and 52 females.The county has been under pressure from the state to reduce the number of inmates. The prison's maximum capacity is 277.In November, the county made deals with two prisons to temporarily house inmates to reduce overcrowding. They contracted with State Correction Institution, Muncy, to take in 15 female prisoners at a cost of $60 per prisoner per day.They also contracted with a county correctional facility in Delaware County to house 25 male prisoners per day at a cost of $60.Thirty male prisoners have been identified, Berdanier said.Several county agencies worked together to compile a list of inmates who were eligible for transfer at the time. District Attorney Christine Holman said that Wednesday's meeting was the first time she was updated on the situation, and that the list was probably obsolete."Our office had given you a list of prisoners that could be transported, but that was months ago. That list is probably moot by now," Holman said.Berdanier said the problem is that many prisoners have court dates and other appointments that require them to be at the county courthouse. That means they can't be shipped off to another county. He said the overwhelming majority of prisoners have more than one criminal case ongoing at a time, making scheduling difficult."We certainly don't want to send anyone who is within a month of being cleared and released. Departments like probation need access to those people," Berdanier said.He said that the prison is optimistic that they may get more qualified prisoners in the county court's next trial term, which begins in April. Those prisoners should have enough time before their next appearance to be eligible for transfer.