Lycoming County prison board: inmate population rises above 300; officials cite mental-health caseload and trainings

At a Lycoming County Prison Board meeting, an agency official reported a sustained rise in the jail population, saying the system averaged 304.83 inmates for the month with a peak of 316, the highest total in three to four years. The official said the increase affected both the prison and the prerelease center and required keeping work crews operational.

The mental-health snapshot taken May 4 showed 335 inmates across the system: 280 males and 55 females. The official gave the roster breakdown as 126 inmates (37.61%) with no mental-health history (roster A); 71 (21.2%) with past history but no active symptoms in the last year (roster B); 120 (36.12%) with current mental-health issues (roster C); and 17 (5.07%) experiencing serious mental illness (roster D). "We're seeing a significant rise in the inmate population," the agency official said, noting the systemwide demands on services and staff.

Officials also reported psychotropic-medication rates: at the prerelease center, 16 males (30.77% of the male prerelease population) and 13 females (65% of the female prerelease population) were receiving psychotropic medications; at the prison, 78 males (37.68% of the male population) and 19 females (57.58% of the female population) were receiving such medications, producing a systemwide medication rate reported as approximately 40.38%.

Board members were told that staff completed a range of trainings in April — including Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) investigator training and crisis intervention training — and that prison administration met with River Valley Health and the West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission to review the jail's medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program.

The board did not receive public comments and adjourned after setting the next meeting for June 12, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. at the prison.