What happened?
Commissioners voted to ratify the submission of the county’s Violence Against Women Act federal grant application. VAWA grant programs are designed to lower domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking by boosting services to victims and holding offenders accountable.
Commissioners also discussed a proposal to develop a grant-funded Senior Justice Assessment Center program dedicated to supporting older adult women victims of crime, according to a news release.
A closer look
County officials said a local Senior Justice Assessment Center would serve the older adult population by helping to formally pursue cases of elder abuse and exploitation, especially against victims from low-income households.
The release states that, if approved, a Bexar County Senior Justice Assessment program will partially be patterned after Harris County’s Senior Justice Assessment Center, which opened in 2017.
An approved VAWA grant would provide $800,000 in funding to a local SJAC over four years. One grant requirement is the creation of a memorandum of understanding between local law enforcement, a prosecutor’s office, a government agency and a victim service provider through which all stakeholders can collaboratively track and streamline cases involving senior justice, the release states.
County officials said they recently committed nearly $4 million to implement the Safety Team Active Response Program to extend domestic violence navigation services.
What they’re saying
Supporters of the grant application and local SJAC initiative said such efforts are worth helping older women who are victimized in certain ways.
"This initiative further emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no senior is forgotten,” said Fernanda Cardenas, chair of the City/County Joint Commission on Elderly Affairs, in a statement.
County Judge Peter Sakai voiced confidence in that federal funding will help bridge a gap in delivering support services and aid to older adult women crime victims seeking justice.
"A Senior Justice Assessment Center will provide case managers and establish a multidisciplinary initiative including law enforcement to ensure victims are not falling through the cracks,” Sakai said in a statement.
Judge Veronica Vasquez, of Bexar County Probate Court No. 2, said Bexar County consistently ranks as having one of the highest rates of elder abuse and exploitation in Texas.
"The creation of a Senior Justice Assessment Center in Bexar County would provide the necessary tools to combat elder abuse and exploitation while also providing much-needed wrap around services to these special victims,” Vasquez said in a statement.
