About Juvenile Probation

In 1899, the first Juvenile Court in the United States was established in Illinois. The Texas Juvenile Court Act of 1907 is the framework from which all juvenile departments are established in Texas.

Department Evolution

Our present-day system evolved from this Act which established the juvenile court system in the four most populated counties in Texas; Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, and Harris. The first juvenile court was established on July 18^th, 1907, and the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department was established on March 5^th, 1908, when County Judge Phil Shook designated ten citizens from the community to serve as officers for the juvenile court to work "mending the ways of erring children." It’s worth noting, this initial staff worked without monetary compensation - reporting their activities directly to the County Judge.

As an official department with a budgeted staff, the earliest newspaper archives suggest the Juvenile Probation Department may have evolved around 1910 and the first Chief Probation Officer was J. Ross Boles, who served from 1912 to 1919 and also served a second term from 1937 to 1939.

Operational Prototype

Today, the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department operates under the direction of the Juvenile Board - a prototype in Texas providing services to children and their families through dedicated employees, modern facilities and advanced technologies. The Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department proudly partners with agencies and citizen volunteers throughout the community to impact the lives of youth and the families of Bexar County we serve.