SAN ANTONIO – As Financial Exploitation Awareness Month continues, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ Adult Protective Services division and the South Texas APS Community Board are planning a community symposium focused on elder abuse and financial exploitation.

The sixth annual Symposium on Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the San Antonio Food Bank.

Organizers say the symposium is designed to strengthen federal, state and local efforts to address elder abuse by developing training and resources for people working to protect older adults.

The department cited several factors it says underscore the need for the event:

– One out of every 10 older adults who live in the community are abused or have been financially exploited each year.

– Only one in 24 cases of elder abuse are reported.

– Adult Protective Services in Bexar County ranks among the top five counties with the highest rates of intake reports.

– In fiscal year 2025, APS received 12,121 elder abuse, neglect and exploitation intake reports in Bexar County.

The department said the collaborative efforts are intended to increase awareness, strengthen community safeguards and protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation.

State law requires anyone who suspects adult abuse, neglect or financial exploitation to report it to the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or online at TxAbuseHotline.org, according to the department.

The department also pointed to demographic trends as a reason for the symposium, noting that by 2034, adults 65 and older will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. It said adults 65 and older make up 13.3% of Bexar County’s population.

The event agenda includes:

– 8:30-8:45 a.m.: Welcome from Paula Riggs, president of the South Texas APS Community Board, and Ann Cortez, district director for the South, Adult Protective Services.

– 8:45-9 a.m.: “The Importance of Partnerships and a Coordinated Community Response” with Lt. Justin Massiatte of the San Antonio Police Department Financial Crimes Unit.

– 9-10 a.m.: “Justice Through Collaboration: Strengthening Our Community Response to Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation” panel discussion with the Honorable Judge Veronica Vasquez of Bexar County Probate Court #2.

– 10-10:15 a.m.: Break.

– 10:15-11:45 a.m.: “Following the Money: Combating Financial Exploitation of Older Texans” with SAPD Financial Crimes Unit detectives Ricardo Heredia and Bryant Soldevila.