Pinal County has reached a deal with the Arizona Department of Corrections on the housing of hundreds of inmates. 

The riot at a private prison in Kingman earlier this month forced the state to outsource more than 1,000 of its prisoners to county jails. Pinal County is holding almost 400 of them. It’s an unusual arrangement and the county wanted to ensure it was adequately compensated.

In the past, Pinal held prisoners for ICE, but eventually cut off the agreement because the federal agency was not covering all the costs.

Joe Pyritz, a spokesperson for the Pinal County, said this time they will be tracking and billing for all the expenses.

“That includes labor costs, travel costs, medicines and food, so we can point that out to the Department of Corrections and be reimbursed for those costs,” said Pyritz.

Apache, Navajo and Santa Cruz Counties have also taken on inmates. Pinal’s contract with the state extends for 180 days.