In a move to create a holistic and coordinated approach toward protecting the county’s senior population, the Bexar County Commissioners Court officially celebrated the creation of the Bexar County Senior Justice Assessment Center, or SJAC, Dec. 16.

In a nutshell

According to county documents, the SJAC is a county-led interagency task force designed to combat senior abuse. SJAC will meet weekly to review and discuss cases involving abuse, crime, exploitation or neglect of individuals age 65 years or older.

During the presentation, which celebrated the creation of the SJAC and the acceptance of the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, grant, totaling $186,755.99, Judge Veronica Vasquez said Bexar County has the highest Adult Protective Services intakes and completed investigations per capita in Texas, and that SJAC will provide a much needed role within the county.

“We saw that there was a need. We have horrific rates of senior elder abuse and exploitation in this county. ... We realized that this was something that was a need in Bexar County,” Vasquez said.


District 26 state Rep. Jose Menendez said that as Bexar County’s aging population increases, the SJAC will be vital to preventing and combatting elder abuse.

“We need to have a way so that our aging population, our seniors, can understand how their case is going to be taken seriously, and that both the D.A.’s office and PD will take [them], know that these are going to get prosecuted,” Menendez said. “This is really important.”

SJAC core team members:
  • Law enforcement, including the Bexar County Sheriff's office, San Antonio Police Department, Bexar County Fire Marshal and suburban cities
  • APS
  • Bexar County District Attorney’s Office
  • Bexar County Public Health
  • Texas and US Attorney General’s Office
  • Bexar County and the City of San Antonio Code Compliance
  • Auxiliary members to join as needed
According to county documents, the core team will meet weekly to review high-risk, high-needs cases in an effort to enhance communication and lead to improved outcomes for survivors. Additionally, the SJAC’s core team will hold monthly operations meetings to create a standard operating procedure, discuss strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement and review data collection. Bexar County Public Health along with participating partners will attend the quarterly Elder Abuse and Exploitation Taskforce to report updates, share data and align prevention and community engagement efforts.

Funds from the VOCA will be used to fund two case managers who will form the foundation of the SJAC.
Stay tuned


Vasquez said that over the coming weeks the planning committee will convene to develop an initial implementation plan as well as to identify data sharing and collection practices. Over the next one to two months, the SJAC will execute a memorandum of understanding, which is a nonbinding agreement, between key partners and begin weekly meetings. Within the next six to 12 months, SJAC will develop an engagement plan.