Domestic Violence Committee

The subject of domestic violence was well represented at the Fall 2004 Conference.   Attendees were able to attend workshops sponsored by IPCSA Domestic Violence Committee, the AOIC DV Committee, and through the Judicial Track.  Topics included probation officers awareness of and sensitivity to issues related to domestic violence survivors; efforts by probation officers to service clients in times of budget cuts and limited resources; research about domestic violence offenders and appropriate interventions; and the expectations and challenges in addressing domestic violence within a coordinated community response.  All the workshops were recurring themes—the importance of court systems and probation officers to recognize the dynamics of domestic violence and the societal attitudes and beliefs that affect how court systems respond to both the perpetrator and the many layers of victims.

The Domestic Violence Committee continues to focus on issues that are of interest to officers across the state who manage these caseloads.  The next scheduled meeting of the committee is Friday, January 14, 2005 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the McLean County Law and Justice Center, 104 West Front Street, Bloomington, IL.  For further information about becoming part of the Domestic Violence Committee, please contact Joni Gilbertson of Woodford County at 309-467-3532 or Linda Hart of Cook County-Social Service at 773-869-6056.

Domestic Violence Committee Annual Plan for 2005

The Domestic Violence Committee (DVC) met for the first time on October 17, 2001.  Presently, Linda Hart from Cook County and Joni Gilbertson from Woodford County are the co-chairs.  The committee has twenty (20) members with an average attendance of approximately eight (8) at each meeting.

The purpose of the committee is as follows: A forum for the sharing of ideas through newsletters, trainings and meetings and to serve as the Association’s advisor in matters pertaining to domestic and family violence.

In fall of 2002 a training was sponsored titled Survivor Sensitivity. The training consisted of a panel of experts involved in the field of domestic presenting information and answered questions regarding their topics of expertise.  There were approximately 12 people in attendance. In spring of 2003 another training was held with the AOIC Domestic Violence group facilitating. The Domestic Violence training team from AOIC facilitated this program and it was well attended and received.  In Chicago the committed assisted in sponsoring three workshops, which were all well-received and attended. 

The committee has written articles for the IPSCA newsletter.  Dan Horan submitted an article on the importance of specialized trainings for probation officers and Maria Moran submitted one on group reporting with domestic violence caseloads.  In the future, the DVC would like to continue to provide informative training and articles concerning group reporting, cultural diversity issues and concerns, domestic violence assessment and any other information in the field that may assist Probation Officers when supervising Domestic Violence cases.