Fort Bend County will now help house inmates for another Texas County.

The gist

At a June 10 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with Colorado County to house some of its inmates at the Fort Bend County Jail, located at 1410 Richmond Pkwy, Richmond.

Colorado County—which is encompassed of Eagle Lake and Columbus—is located west of the Katy and Sugar Land area.



The agreement comes after the detention center faced staffing shortages in 2024 and considered sending 322 of its own inmates to a private correctional facility, Community Impact reported.

Community Impact reached out to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about its current staffing numbers and the reason for the agreement but did not receive the information before press time.

The details

Fort Bend will receive a daily per diem of $87 per Colorado County inmate housed at its jails, according to the agreement.


Inmates housed at Fort Bend County as part of the agreement must:
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be in “good” general health
  • Not had serious institutional behavior history in the last 90 days
Fort Bend will only be responsible for housing and care of the inmates, including onsite medical care, while Colorado County will be responsible for all transportation and extra services needed, per the agreement.

Additionally, Colorado County inmates will not be eligible for educational or vocational programs through Fort Bend.

By the numbers
According to data from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, Fort Bend County had 801 inmates as of May 1, while Colorado County had 50 inmates.
The county’s jails capacity differ drastically with Fort Bend’s capacity at 1,770 inmates and Colorado’s at 50 inmates, per commission data.

Zooming out


Several Greater Houston counties—including Harris and Montgomery—area outsourcing inmates from their jails, Community Impact reported.

Harris County continues to outsource inmates to two jail facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi due to the sheer number of inmates, Community Impact reported. As of June 13, 1,534 of the 8,880 inmates in the county’s care are being outsourced, according to county data.

Meanwhile, Montgomery County commissioners approved an agreement in April to house up to 45 of their inmates in Waller County at a rate of $75 per day due to overcrowding.

Going forward


The initial agreement term is through Sept. 30 with the potential for renewal each Oct. 1, per agenda documents.