Task Force
The Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention Task Force is made up of key community stakeholders who shape the work of the office. The Task Force is divided into three components that each play a critical role in addressing violence in our community – prevention, protection and prosecution.
Members of the Task Force represent the following community agencies:
- 17th Judicial Circuit Court
- Carrie Lynn Children's Advcoacy Center
- Children's Home and Aid
- City of Rockford Health and Human Services
- City of Rockford Police Department
- Family Peace Center
- Medical Evaluation Response Team (MERIT)
- NAMI
- NIU Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic
- RAMP
- Region 1 Planning Council
- Regional Office of Education
- Remedies Renewing Lives
- Rockford Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
- Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling
- United States Attorney's Office (Northern District of Illinois)
- Winnebago County Adult Probation
- Winnebago County CASA
- Winnebago County Sheriff's Department
- Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office
Below are just a few examples of strategies the Task Force has developed.
- Engaging Men and Boys as Allies in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls Grant: In an effort to address a vast absence of male voices meaningfully engaging in or leading efforts to end violence against women and girls, the Office won a grant to support a project to create educational programming and community organizing to encourage men and boys to work as allies with women, girls and marginalized communities to prevent domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking. The project will develop and implement a train-the-trainer program for community organizations or programs to incorporate education and/or training into their existing work with male clients to prevent violence against women and girls.
- Educators’ Summit: This annual event addresses the growing challenges presented by students facing severe social-emotional issues driven by exposure to domestic, sexual and community violence.
- The Juvenile Enhanced Response Team (JVERT): JVERT’s human trafficking committee reviews cases of suspected youth trafficking and is also working to develop a law enforcement led, school based and parent involved training that specifically addresses web based sexual exploitation, grooming and recruitment.
- Handle With Care: This program, implemented in 2022, provides critical communication between the Rockford Police Department and Rockford Public School staff when a student has been listed as a victim or witness in a police report.
- 911 Training: The task force implemented training for all City 911 dispatchers around best practices for responding to domestic violence calls for service and strategies for identifying and responding to non-fatal strangulation.
- Video Series: The task force developed a new tool for educators – the Quick10 Series. This series offers 10-minute videos with information on domestic violence and sexual abuse for educators.
- Evidence Based Prosecution/Jail Calls: In collaboration with the Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts, the task force identifies appropriate team members to collaborate in the development of best practices to utilize jail calls in domestic violence prosecutions.
- Police Policies and Procedures: The task force reviewed and revised police policies and procedures to align with best practices in responding to domestic and sexual violence and the recommendations of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
- IDVA Law Enforcement Victim Notification: Prosecution task force members participated in the process of updating the Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) law enforcement victim notification form. Updates to the form improved the clarity and content of information that is provided to survivors on scene.