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The Bexar County Department of Justice Support and Human Services (JSHS) Department is comprised of the following divisions:
Children & Family Services
Dispute Resolution
Forensic Science Center
Health and Human Services Programs
Detention Population Relief
Pre-Trial Services
Texas Cooperative Extension Service
Children & Family Services
The Division of Children and Family Services was created to provide the function of planning and designing a comprehensive, coordinated system of prevention, early identification, and immediate intervention programs for children, adolescents and their families. Through community participation, service needs and funding priorities will be set as a result of a periodic community needs assessment. The Division will identify and compete for corresponding funding (private foundation and government) to combine with county resources to accomplish its mission.
Dispute Resolution Center
The Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center offers mediation services to Bexar County residents as an alternative method of resolving citizens' disputes in a peaceful and expeditious manner thereby avoiding judicial action. The Center has numerous mediation programs, including Community-Based Mediation, Court-Ordered Litigation Mediation, Family Mediation, Juvenile (Victim-Offender) Mediation, Child Abuse and Neglect Mediation, and Justice of the Peace Courts Mediation. The Center works closely with other community organizations which have programs that utilize third party neutrals, providing facilitators for Family Group Conferencing sessions conducted by the Child Protective Services Division of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and arbitrators for eviction appeal hearings held by the San Antonio Housing Authority. The Center also offers an information and referral service under the Multi-Door Program which directs citizens with problems or disputes to appropriate services provided by other community, government, or social services agencies. The Center's Speakers Bureau conducts presentations and community education activities which promote the use of mediation and conflict management as an alternative means of dispute resolution. The Center's "Amigos in Mediation" Peer Mediation Program helps school establish their own peer mediation programs in order that students may resolve their own interpersonal conflicts and disputes.
The Center is open to serve the public from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. All Center services are free of charge to Bexar County residents.
Forensic Science Center
The Bexar County Forensic Science Center is located on the campus of the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC). The Forensic Science Manager, under the direction of the JSHS Executive Director, acts as landlord to five tenants in the 52,000 square foot building. The two (2) Bexar County divisions are: 1) the Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory and 2) the Medical Examiner's Office. The two state tenants are: 1) the hub for the state of Texas- the South Texas Poison Center and 2) the Forensic Odentology. The fifth tenant is a not- for- profit agency.
The Medical Examiner's Office investigates the death of all individuals in Bexar County who die suddenly, violently and/or unexpectedly, in order to determine the cause and manner of death in these cases. The Medical Investigators conduct scene investigations; interviews witnesses to the deaths, attending physicians, relatives and police as well as taking scene photographs. Based on the information gathered, a decision is made as to whether the case is a medical examiner's case and, if so, whether an autopsy needs to be performed. Whether an autopsy or just an external examination is conducted, the Medical Examiner collects body fluids and tissue from the body and has it analyzed by the Toxicology Section to determine the presence or absence of poison, drugs or other chemicals.
Health and Human Services Programs
The Division of Health and Human Services (HHS) is composed of multiple sections including Administration and Management, Community Programs, Direct Client Services, HIV Services Program, and the Veterans Services Office. Each program is designed to either provide services and assistance to individuals and families or to provide oversight to agencies that contract with the County for that purpose.
Community Programs
The Community Programs staff serve as liaisons and contract monitors for Bexar County with outside agencies including the Jewish Family Service Guardianship Advisory Board, the Child Welfare Board, Catholic Charities Meals on Wheels Program, and Project Quest. The Community Programs Coordinator is the point of contact for Bexar County Volunteer Services Programs and Summer Youth Programs.
Direct Client Services
Direct Client Services (DCS) accepts applications from and qualifies Bexar County residents requesting assistance for utility payments, water service payments, clothing, food vouchers, prescriptions and transportation using local, State and Federal funding. Educational programs are provided in the form of budget counseling, credit repair, health and nutrition, energy conservation and job search training. In addition to the financial assistance, DCS can provide limited weatherization assistance to qualified households within Bexar County and the surrounding areas serviced by City Public Service. Appointments are given out by phone each Tuesday beginning at 9 am. Offices are fully accessible to the disabled and limited home visits may be arranged. Additional services provided by DCS include management of the Pauper Burial program, which provides funeral and burial assistance to indigent residents without insurance or funding, and it provides staffing for the Bexar County Technical Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities.
HIV Services Program
The HIV Services Program provides federal and state grant funds to community-based organizations, public health agencies, and other non-profit organizations for the provision of health and support services to persons affected with HIV/AIDS, and their families in a forty-three county area across South Texas.
Bexar County Justice Support & Human Services is responsible for serving as the Administrative Agent. As such, contract monitoring, fiscal management of grant funds, quality management and data collection are administered through this program.
As a requirement for receiving Ryan White Title I CARE Act funds the Bexar County Judge established the San Antonio EMA HIV Health Services Planning Council (25 members). The Planning Council is responsible for establishing priorities for the allocation of funds within the San Antonio Eligible Metropolitan Area; developing a comprehensive plan for the organization and delivery of health services; assessing the efficiency of the administrative mechanism in rapidly allocating funds to the areas of greatest need; participating in the development of the Statewide Coordinated Statement of Need initiated by the State Public Health Agency; and establishing methods of obtaining input on community needs and priorities which may include public meetings, conducting focus groups, convening ad-hoc panels.
As a requirement for receiving State HIV Services funds, Bexar County Housing and Human Services is responsible for providing support to the South Texas Planning Assembly. The Planning Assembly is responsible the same duties as the Planning Council except for all the South Texas Region that includes the San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Uvalde, Victoria, Laredo and Brownsville HIV Service Delivery Areas.
Veterans Service Office
The Bexar County Veterans Service Office is a veterans' advocacy agency that provides assistance to veterans, their dependents and survivors in filing claims for veterans' benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), the U. S. Military Services, and the State of Texas. Benefits include compensation, pension, burial and death benefits, educational assistance, home loans, insurance, hospitalization and out-patient care, as well as exemptions for property taxes and disabled veterans license plates. In addition, the office assists veterans in obtaining copies of their military records, with requests for discharge upgrades and requests for changes to their military records. The office also cooperates with local government and service agencies to assist clients in obtaining needed services.
Detention Population Relief
The Detention Population Relief Division is an essential part of the Criminal Justice System and is tasked with finding solutions to jail overcrowding. Housing of inmates is one of the most expensive components of the Criminal Justice System. The Detention Population Relief Division acts as a liaison among the various components of the Criminal Justice System including parole, prison, law enforcement, prosecutors, the courts and various outside agencies. Detention Population Relief Division strives to find cost effective ways to reduce unnecessary time in detention for inmates while maintaining community safety.
Pre-Trial Services
The Bexar County Pre-trial Services Office currently assigns staff to five operating sites and has a combination of 16 sections, services and/or supervision levels. A continued focus of the Pre-trial Services Office is to screen pretrial offenders that are suitable for release on bond consistent with community safety, as an alternative to incarceration. This effort includes coordinated and structured supervision for the various types of pretrial bonds posted, as well as active participation in the collaborative efforts to address jail population management.
Texas Cooperative Extension Services
The Texas Cooperative Extension Service is responsible for providing the citizens of Bexar County with current, research-based information in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, home economics, 4-H, and youth development. Texas Cooperative Extension Service is also responsible for administering the Green Brigade Program. The Texas Cooperative Extension Service Office organizes and promotes numerous community outreach efforts including: short courses, workshops, clinics, group meetings, letters, leaflets, exhibits, scientific publications, and farm and home visits. The Texas Cooperative Extension Service Office also serves as a liaison to Alamo Soil and Water Conservation District, an outside agency funded in part by Bexar County. |
