The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct…

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded Northern Illinois University a $134,562 Project Grant under the OVW Research and Evaluation Program (CFDA 16.026). The grant will fund a mixed-methods longitudinal evaluation of survivors' experiences with a Domestic Violence Coordinated Court (DVCC) in Winnebago County, Illinois over 36 months.

The evaluation will involve a sample of 250 survivors to examine associations between engagement with and perceptions of court-based services, and outcomes related to reduced revictimization, mental health and well-being, safety and empowerment, and willingness to engage with the criminal justice system in the future. The project builds on an ongoing partnership between Northern Illinois University's Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault and the Winnebago County DVCC. Initial funding of $134,562 is for 12 months, with anticipated supplemental funding in FY2022 to support the full 36-month duration contingent on available funding.

The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct evaluations of promising practices for combatting domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to research problems emerging in the field. By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from violence against women act (VAWA) funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of building empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of making communities safer and more just. This mixed-methods longitudinal evaluation of survivors' experiences with a domestic violence court will involve a sample of 250 survivors to examine the associations between survivors' engagement in, and perceptions of, court-based services, as well as outcomes related to: a) reduced revictimization; B) mental health and well-being; C) safety and empowerment; and D) willingness to engage with the criminal justice system in the future. The project will build on the ongoing partnership between the center for the study of family violence and sexual assault at northern ILLINOIS university and winnebago county (ILLINOIS)'S domestic violence coordinated court (DVCC). The initial performance period for this project is 12 months. OVW anticipates supplementing this award in FY 2022 so that the study is funded at the requested amount, for the full 36-month duration. Supplemental funding is contingent on available funding and other factors.