InfoNet & Other Victim Services Research

November 15, 2024 | Article

The Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act) established the Domestic Violence Pretrial Practices Working Group, a group comprised of diverse Illinois criminal justice and victim service stakeholders. Their final report makes eight recommendations for evidence-based improvements to court procedures. Recommendations included strengthening the collection of risk and lethality assessment indicators by law enforcement responding to domestic violence calls and increasing criminal justice stakeholders’ utilization of these indicators in their pretrial decision-making. Other recommendations emphasized the crucial role that domestic violence victims should have in shaping information gathering practices and the value of expanding promising local and regional domestic violence-related initiatives. Implementation...

June 5, 2024 | Article

To develop and propose policies and procedures aimed at reducing crime in the State of Illinois, the Crime Reduction Task Force Act established the Crime Reduction Task Force (20 ILCS 3926/1-5). The Task Force was active from October 2022 through June 2024. The Task Force adopted recommendations addressing a wide range of areas related to crime reduction, from domestic violence to poverty and youth development.

February 29, 2024 | Article

ICJIA researchers created an InfoNet system infographic for State Fiscal Year 2023 that summarizes client data, data and technical assistance requests, system upgrades, and research using InfoNet data.

August 22, 2023 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) convened the Victim Services Planning Committee (VSPC) in early 2022 to recommend victim service priority funding areas. ICJIA researchers utilized various research methods, such as secondary data analysis, a survey, and focus groups, to better understand Illinois victim service needs and gaps and presented findings to the VSPC. Both VSPC and ICJIA Board members voted to approve 12 research-informed victim service priority funding areas. Broadly, the priority areas aspire to increase victim service awareness and access; address victims’ needs; support victim-centered and -informed services; and promote service implementation, outcomes, and sustainability. These priorities will inform future grantmaking to address victim service needs and gaps in Illinois for the next several year...

August 15, 2023 | Article

Although males experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at a rate only slightly lower than females, they are much less likely to receive formal victim services. We examined differences in males and females who received services for IPV victimization. Using InfoNet data web-based case management system used by domestic violence and sexual assault victims service providers in Illinois—we compared non-fatal male and female IPV victim demographics collected between 2015 and 2019. We analyzed their characteristics, IPV victimization type, and service receipt. We found that the racial/ethnic representation among male IPV victims was more proportionate to their representation among Illinois residents than that of female IPV victims. Females more often reported having a disability or limited English proficiency, both barriers to accessing servi...

June 23, 2023 | Article

ICJIA researchers conducted a process evaluation of the Safe From the Start (SFS) program, examining the program’s operation with a focus on its three core pillars of coalition building, direct services, and public awareness. Researchers analyzed data collected from clinicians and administrative staff across nine program sites via an online survey, four focus groups, and nine virtual site visits. Findings indicated that providers' key objectives for coalition building were to streamline family referrals, collaborate with partners on public awareness efforts, and educate partners on childhood exposure to violence. Sites coordinated quarterly coalition meetings and annual professional development trainings to increase collaboration among service agencies. Providers’ direct service activities involved making referrals, developing service pla...

June 8, 2023 | Article

Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (HEALS) is an Office for Victims or Crime-funded initiative seeking to improve systems’ response for children, youth, and families impacted by violence. Egyptian Health Department, located in Southern Illinois, was selected as the demonstration site for HEALS program implementation and evaluation. Researchers conducted a multi-method study to better understand program implementation. In the first 19 months of implementation (September 2019-March 2021), the site served 748 clients, trained more than 75 community members, and entered into nine memoranda of understanding with partner organizations. Additionally, findings revealed strong collaborative efforts and successful service connections; 60% of surveyed Advisory Council members reported that their community worked to solve problems throug...

April 19, 2023 | Article

Exposure to violence and crime can have a detrimental impact on society and individuals. This report examined the need, access, use, and barriers of victim-centered services among Illinois residents. With a focus on feelings of empowerment and help-seeking behaviors, we surveyed and interviewed diverse groups of Illinois residents who themselves, or their family members, have been victimized or exposed to violence and crime. A total of 1,114 Illinois residents completed an online survey; 17 survey participants from underrepresented groups participated in an in-depth interview. Participants indicated high levels of experiencing crime and victimization in their lifetime. Depending on the crime or experience, participants sought help from different sources, including the police or law enforcement, social services or community-based organizat...

March 15, 2023 | Article

The Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act) was signed into law on January 22, 2021, by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. The SAFE-T Act established the Domestic Violence Pretrial Practices Working Group to inform the state’s understanding of current domestic violence pretrial practices and to make recommendations for evidence-based improvements to court procedures. The present report reflects the working group’s assessment of current domestic violence pretrial practices as of November 30, 2022. Their assessment revealed strengths and opportunities for improvement in four areas: criminal justice system responses, use of risk and lethality assessments, education and training for criminal justice professionals, and pretrial data collection for domestic violence and related offenses. The working group will c...

July 12, 2022 | Article

With the implementation of stay-at-home orders to slow COVID-19 transmission, researchers and victim service providers raised concerns about an increase in the amount and severity of domestic violence (DV) incidents. Using InfoNet—an online database used by Illinois domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) service providers—researchers explored data collected on victim services client volume, service needs, and offense characteristics over the first three months of the pandemic in 2020 compared to data collected during the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Findings revealed large increases in telephone counseling, a precipitous drop in in-person counseling, and a change from on-site to off-site DV victim shelter use. This report also highlights several notable changes in offense characteristics, referral sources, and service provision ...

May 23, 2022 | Article

ICJIA researchers conducted an evaluation of the Safe From the Start (SFS) program to identify the characteristics, risk factors, and the impact of violence and service provision on children and their caregivers. Administrative and assessment data collected from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2020, representing 4,823 children who had received services across nine SFS sites in Illinois were analyzed. Findings indicated that most children referred for services had witnessed domestic violence (81%) and that 39% of children were at risk for social-emotional delays and 41% had presented with emotional and behavioral problems. Additionally, 43% of caregivers had elevated parental stress at intake. Analyses of matched pre-and post-intervention data indicated a significant reduction in children’s problematic emotional and behavioral symptoms and in c...

May 11, 2021 | Article

The criminal legal system has established policies and programs to address intimate partner violence, such as mandatory arrest policies, specialized courts, weapons bans, no drop prosecution, and orders of protection. Programs for people who perpetrate violence include batterer intervention programs and cognitive behavioral therapy. These programs attempt to address correlated issues, such as substance use disorders, childhood exposure to violence, child abuse, exposure to homicide/femicide, and animal abuse. This article presents an overview of prevention, policies, programming, and associations for people who have perpetrated intimate partner violence.

February 5, 2021 | Article

Though underreported, intimate partner violence affects a large number of women, as well as men and individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community. Intimate partner violence can affect the mental and physical health of the person who experienced violence and negatively impact children in the home. Over the past two decades, researchers have identified typologies of people who have perpetrated intimate partner violence based on the forms of abuse, types of person who perpetrated violence, types of violence, and motivations for use of violence. An understanding of IPV typologies can help create more effective and individualized prevention and intervention policies and programs. This article discusses typologies, as well as risk assessments that can guide the justice system in measuring risk for perpetrating or experiencing violence. Information on t...

January 19, 2021 | Article

Rape crisis centers provide crisis counseling, victim advocacy, mental health services, and community education free at the point of service in Illinois. This study sought to understand how Illinois rape crisis centers were affected by the two-year state budget impasse (2015 to 2017), during which many social service programs were unsupported by state funding. Analyzing administrative data from 29 rape crisis centers, we found statistically significant yet minimal decreases in hours of service provided to victims for criminal justice advocacy, individual counseling, and telephone counseling. Findings showed that despite substantial funding loss during the budget impasse, rape crisis centers managed to continue serving sexual violence survivors though several service categories were affected. Findings underscored the effect state budgets c...

October 15, 2020 | Article

Improving victim services for underserved populations is a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding priority. While VOCA does not define who “underserved populations” are, it does provide guidelines state administering agencies (SAAs), the entities that distribute VOCA funding, should use to designate underserved victims within their states. These guidelines state SAAs must base their definitions on victim characteristics (e.g., race, residence, income) and/or victimization type (e.g., sexual assault, robbery). The present study examines the definition of underserved in the context of Illinois sexual assault and domestic violence victims. Domestic violence and sexual assault service provider perspectives were solicited directly via focus groups, which included a discussion on provider definitions and experiences related to underserved victims ...

August 16, 2020 | Article

Researchers use interviewing as a qualitative tool to answer research questions. Researchers have an ethical obligation to protect study participants from harm, particularly when asking about sensitive topics. Interviews on potentially sensitive topics (e.g., victimization, criminal offending behaviors, substance use) can elicit emotional responses from both the participant and the interviewer. However, research has found the benefits to participating in interviews on sensitive topics generally outweigh risks to participants. This article offers recommendations to researchers conducting qualitative interviews on sensitive topics, including creating a safe environment, offering compensation and referrals, and considering staff well-being.

April 16, 2020 | Article

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique challenges for the criminal justice system. Despite statewide social distancing and stay-in-place orders, criminal justice practitioners and victim service providers must, to some extent, continue to directly interact with justice-involved individuals, victims, and others. This article describes some of the challenges criminal justice system practitioners must face during the pandemic and offers guidance on policy and practices to ensure their safety.

December 17, 2019 | Article

News reports have documented increases in calls to rape crisis hotlines after periods of intense coverage of sexual assault cases in the media. Hotline call data collected from InfoNet, a web-based data collection and reporting system used by victim service providers in Illinois, was used to examine the relationship between daily hotline calls and the coverage of sexual assault in the media over the past 17 years. While evidence was found for exceptionally high call volume coinciding with the confirmation process of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as calls related to a local media awareness event promoting the hotline, other high-profile cases were not consistently linked to increased calls. This article provides an initial exploration into how high-profile events may impact hotline calls and notes the importance of es...

October 17, 2019 | Article

Domestic violence is a national public health issue that both federal and state funding work to address. Researchers analyzed data collected via InfoNet, a statewide case management and data reporting system used by domestic violence agencies across Illinois, and other state administrative data, to identify trends among those who have been harmed by domestic violence. Researchers found shifts in the number and characteristics of clients served, including an increase in clients who are veterans, older adults, and those who shared child custody with the offender. However, further research is needed to fully understand the unique needs of these client groups and how funding shifts may impact services in Illinois.

October 3, 2019 | Article

Research suggests violence against women is a leading cause of U.S. homelessness and housing instability for women and their children. Transitional housing programs offer stable housing to women and their children who have been harmed by violence. Researchers conducted a process evaluation of three Illinois transitional housing programs. Overall, the study revealed the programs provided a vital service to victims and staff and client statements reflected positively on the program. The study highlighted areas for program enhancement, including offering more education on tenant rights; expansion and engagement of victims; funding for additional services, such as food assistance, transportation, and childcare; and increased program awareness.

September 19, 2019 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority was awarded a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime for the Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (Illinois HEALS) initiative. The six-year initiative seeks to improve the identification, connection, and service engagement of children, youth, and families impacted by violence in Illinois. Researchers analyzed documents and artifacts from series of 29 meetings for the Illinois HEALS initiative with representatives from several service domains (i.e., child welfare, education, healthcare, family and civil court, justice, social services, and victim services) in Illinois. Findings suggest that providers throughout the state are facing challenges in recognizing victimization experiences of children and youth, connecting young persons to appropriate and accessible resources, and...

September 3, 2019 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority was awarded a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime for the Illinois Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems (Illinois HEALS) initiative. The six-year initiative seeks to improve the recognition, connection, and service engagement of children, youth, and families impacted by violence in Illinois. Illinois HEALS program staff surveyed agencies in Illinois serving children, youth, and families to better understand how they learn about client victimization and exposure to violence, services available to victims, and referral and collaboration processes. Survey findings revealed service providers use varying methods to learn about clients’ victimization, such as screening and assessment tools, and strategies for sharing information within and across agencies and systems, including collab...

July 1, 2019 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority was awarded a Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth Demonstration grant from the Office for Victims of Crime. This six-year initiative seeks to improve the identification, connection, and service engagement of children, youth, and families impacted by violence in Illinois. Informed by a 15-month planning process, the Illinois HEALS Action Plan will guide the future work of the project to implement policies, practices, and programs that strengthen the capacity of Illinois’ communities to recognize when victimization has occurred and connect and engage young victims and families in needed services.

March 18, 2019 | Article

A large number of children and youth in the United States experience multiple forms of violence in their homes, schools, and community. These experiences can impact a child’s personality development, mental health, academic success, and interpersonal relationships. This article presents data on the prevalence of childhood victimization and exposure to violence in Illinois. Also discussed are the impacts of those experiences and their implications for policy and practice.

October 19, 2018 | Article

Illinois law enforcement agencies reported 118,160 domestic-related crimes in 2016. The Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council developed and provided training for police and other criminal justice practitioners to improve knowledge about domestic violence and apply this knowledge to support evidence-based approaches to prosecution and orders of protection. This article presents findings from 28 training evaluations held between September 2015 and September 2017. These evaluations provided evidence of some improvement post-training in confidence and knowledge of domestic violence and increased knowledge of promising practices to collect evidence for and investigate domestic violence and abuse cases.

August 27, 2018 | Article

InfoNet is a web-based, centralized statewide case management system for domestic and sexual violence centers maintained by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA). This article demonstrates InfoNet's strengths and utility and how its data contribute knowledge about victimization and victim services. Also highlighted are the system's future directions for growth, new functionalities, and broader applications to address victimization in Illinois.

January 30, 2018 | Article

Researchers conducted a statewide study to better understand crime victim needs, identify service gaps, and measure the capacity of Illinois victim service providers. This report focuses on how victim service providers from across Illinois discussed their service delivery and capacity to meet victim need. Study findings have policy and practice implications for funders, victim service providers, and other service agencies that interact with victims in Illinois.

August 4, 2017 | Article

Violent crime victimization can impact multiple areas of victims' lives. Victims who are underserved or marginalized face unique individual, societal, and cultural hurdles that impact help-seeking. Models of service delivery that provide a single point of contact and comprehensive, evidence-based services hold promise to serve victims whose needs extend beyond traditional services. Comprehensive trauma recovery center (TRC) models have been shown to lead to positive survivor outcomes. TRC model expansion should be explored to assess how they might complement existing services and reach underserved individuals and groups.

January 31, 2017 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority convened an Ad Hoc Victim Services Committee in January to review research to identify crime victim needs and service gaps and measure capacity of Illinois victim service providers. The Committee then set funding priorities to address those needs, gaps, and capacity issues. The priorities were later approved by the ICJIA Board and will guide notices of funding opportunity and statewide funding decisions for the next three years.

May 3, 2016 | Article

Many victims of intimate partner violence find themselves at increased risk for homelessness as they make efforts to escape violence. The lack of stable, safe, and affordable housing is associated with negative outcomes for these victims. This article describes the relationship between housing instability and victim health and well-being, issues to consider when addressing housing stability for this population, and recommendations for policy and practice.

March 7, 2016 | Article

InfoNet is a web-based data collection and reporting system used by rape crisis centers across Illinois. Developed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority in collaboration with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) and other agencies, InfoNet is used by ICASA's network of 33 rape crisis centers. The system tracks victim characteristics and services provided using unique identifiers and offers data to inform local and statewide policy and planning.

August 24, 2015 | Article

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's InfoNet data system is key to targeted, effective services for victims of interpersonal violence across Illinois.

February 23, 2010 | Research Report

The Analysis of Shelter Utilization by Victims of Domestic Violence project was funded by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) in the spring of 2008 to address two primary issues: 1) The shelter and service utilization patterns and outcomes and housing needs of women who are domestic violence victims, and 2) the stages in the process by which they make changes in their situation. Toward this end, this project relied on a variety of data sources, including multiple interviews with women in shelter programs in Chicago, data from the City of Chicago's Domestic Violence Help Line and data from ICJIA's InfoNet system. Both quantitative data and qualitative analyses were conducted using data from these sources. This report contains the findings from these analyses.

April 10, 2008 | Research Report

This summary highlights the findings from analysis of domestic violence service data obtained by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) through its InfoNet system between the period of January 1, 1998 and December 11, 2005. The data were provided by nearly 70 domestic violence centers throughout Illinois that receive funding from either the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) or the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). We briefly discuss the methodology and research questions and then summarize the findings from the analysis of data as it pertains to each of the questions. Recommendations related to the findings are also presented.