Statewide Helpline, Infonet, Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Training Program Manual

Bureau of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking

Statewide Helpline, Infonet, and Sexual Assault Services

Please direct all program related information and questions to:

1. I. Introduction/Definition
2. II. Policies & Procedures
3. III. Deliverables/Payments
4. IV. Provider Responsibilities
5. V. Department Responsibilities
6. VI. Support Services
7. VII. Billing Instructions
8. VIII. Program Monitoring
9. IX. Budget
10. X. Applicable Rules and Statutes

I. Introduction/Definition

The Department's Domestic and Sexual Violence efforts are dedicated to support a statewide trauma informed system for individuals and their significant others that are impacted by domestic and sexual violence. The Bureau of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking funds a service network which provides comprehensive, confidential, support in response to violence. Outreach, education, training, intervention and working in partnership with communities are a part of the statewide strategy to advance safety and hold abusers accountable.

Statewide Helpline

The Program supports community-based providers which provide awareness and education about domestic violence, training to professionals and volunteers who deliver support to victims and directly provide victims and their vulnerable family members with quality comprehensive domestic violence services including emergency shelter, crisis, information regarding referrals and resources, counseling, advocacy, transportation and outreach.

The Domestic Violence Statewide Help Line is part of the Department's response to domestic violence. The Help Line provides statewide, toll-free, 24-hour, 7 day-a-week, multi-lingual, confidential services to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, and information to people calling on behalf of a victim including friends or family of the domestic violence victim and first responders such as the police. The Help Line provides victims' access and direct referrals to the Department's funded domestic violence providers via a three-way phone linkage.

Help Line staff make referrals to domestic violence service agencies, identify non-traditional domestic violence services, provide safety planning or tips, and help victims explore service options. The Help Line's trained domestic violence advocates help provide a safety network for Illinois residents living in remote areas of the state and for those for whom English is not their primary language. Additionally, the Statewide Help Line also increases access to domestic violence services for the deaf and hard of hearing by providing the most up to date technology.

InfoNet

Through a statewide network of community-based providers victims and communities are provided awareness and education about domestic violence, training of professionals and volunteers who deliver support to victims and directly provide victims and their vulnerable family members with quality comprehensive domestic violence services including emergency shelter, crisis, information regarding referrals and resources, counseling, advocacy, transportation and outreach.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's InfoNet System is the system by which the state collects and maintains non-identifying client information and information on services provided to these clients by the statewide network of community-based domestic violence providers. The Department uses InfoNet to meet federal reporting requirements, to identify emerging trends and to target limited resources for victim services.

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Sexual Assault Services

Through statewide prevention education and direct services to survivors, the Illinois Department of Human Services' Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program reduces the incidence of rape and other forms of sexual assault and ensures that survivors of sexual assault have access to appropriate crisis intervention, supportive services, advocacy, counseling and medical care.

For this program, the Department provides grant funds to support a network of community-based rape crisis centers. The Centers provide prevention education in their communities and comprehensive direct services to survivors of sexual assault and their significant others.

The following services are provided: direct crisis intervention through a 24-hour-a-day sexual assault crisis hotline, advocacy through support services to sexual assault victims by trained staff or trained volunteers during the medical examination, police investigation and/or court proceedings, individual and/or group supportive counseling for victims and their families, information dissemination, training of professionals and paraprofessionals, community education, and referrals to social service agencies, private therapists, physicians, etc.

Domestic Violence Training

The Illinois Department of Human Services funds a statewide network of Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention programs (DVPI) and Partner Abuse Intervention Programs (PAIP). The Domestic Violence Training grant supports these community-based providers in meeting training requirements and building capacity of direct service and supervisory staff.

Under Illinois state law (750 ILCS 60), staff and volunteers of domestic violence programs are required to complete 40-hours of training in domestic violence advocacy, crisis intervention, confidentiality and other areas for their work with women, children and men experiencing domestic violence. Staff and volunteers cannot provide direct services to victims until they have completed this training. Per Administrative Code 89, Section 501.290 Partner Abuse Intervention Program all direct service staff and supervisors must complete 40 hours of training consistent with the requirements of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act.

Domestic Violence Training grantees will provide these 40-hour trainings, and develop and provide advanced and specialized trainings and technical assistance to increase the quality of existing services and expertise of DVPI and PAIP staff. Grantees work closely with the Department and the established funded network to build staff capacity and promote quality as outlined in the domestic violence services guidelines manual and Administrative Code 89, Section 501.

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II. Policies & Procedures

Statutes/Rules

The Provider will provide the following services and agrees to act in accordance with all state and federal statutes and administrative rules applicable to the provision of services pursuant to the CSA Agreement and in the Program Manual.

III. Deliverables/Payments

The Community Service Agreement details requirements for deliverables in Exhibit B and payments in Exhibit C.

IV. Provider Responsibilities

The Provider's Responsibilities are described in the Community Service Agreement in Exhibit B. In addition to those responsibilities, the Provider shall:

1. Ensure that criminal background and CANTS checks are performed on personnel providing direct services to children.
2. Ensure that all staff and volunteers report suspected abuse, neglect and maltreatment according to the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (ANCRA).
3. Ensure that all staff and volunteers report suspected abuse, neglect, and exploitation of persons 60 and over and people with disabilities who are unable to report for themselves. The reports are required by the Adult Protective Services Act (320 ILCS 20/1 et. seq.).
4. Ensure representation at mandatory program meetings, management and program trainings convened by or in behalf of the Department. Providers will be notified of any such meetings and required staffing levels.
5. Providers must notify Bureau staff of changes in key personnel (Executive Director, Program Coordinator, Fiscal Director) within 7 days.
6. Obtain approval from the Department for all materials produced pursuant to this Agreement. If materials are produced by the Provider without prior approval by the Department, production costs may be disallowed.
7. Cooperate and participate in any research and survey efforts which have been approved by the Department. Cooperate and participate in the Departments' program evaluation and strategic plan initiatives. The Department agrees to consider requests for waiver or modifications of a research participation mandate from individual providers.

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State Help Line

The Help Line shall provide toll-free, 24-hour, 7 day a week, confidential and multi-lingual assistance to callers throughout the State of Illinois and function as a clearinghouse for domestic violence services and information.

The Help Line shall maintain an extensive database of statewide resources and shall link callers to the most appropriate and accessible resource.

The Help Line shall be staffed by trained and certified domestic violence advocates known as Victim Information and Referral Advocates (VIRAs). VIRAs must be knowledgeable of the statewide domestic violence resources and responsive to the needs of individuals and communities across the state.

VIRAs shall be onsite and available to answer calls 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Spanish speaking VIRAs shall always be available to answer calls and staff shall access the AT&T Language Line for additional language support.

The Help Line shall accept calls and provide assistance and information to all callers throughout the State of Illinois.

Callers shall be provided with immediate information about their rights and options and upon request, shall be offered a direct three-way link to community-based domestic violence resources to include shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and children's services.

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InfoNet

The purpose of the Domestic Violence InfoNet System is to provide for the design, implementation and maintenance of a statewide information network (InfoNet) that meets the needs of victim service providers and also meets the needs of the state agencies that provide funding to victim service providers.

The Provider shall provide services as specified in the InfoNet Interagency Agreement between the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the Department.

Services shall include the following: support access to the InfoNet by Department-funded domestic violence victim service providers (InfoNet Users); provide InfoNet training, technical assistance, and support for InfoNet Users; provide systems maintenance necessary to support InfoNet Users; and provide technical assistance and support to the Department.

The Provider shall grant the Department a nonexclusive license to use InfoNet software and computer programs.

Sexual Assault Services

Sexual Assault service provide safe, survivor-centered services to respond to the needs of victims; to provide information, support, counseling and advocacy services to help victims become aware of and take advantage of their rights and options; and to educate and inform the community that sexual assault is a crime that will not be tolerated.

The Provider assures that the following services are provided: direct crisis intervention through a 24-hour-a-day sexual assault crisis hotline; 24-hour in person advocacy services to sexual assault victims by trained staff or trained volunteers during the medical examination, police investigation and/or court proceedings; individual family and/or group counseling for victims and their families; information dissemination; training of professionals and paraprofessionals, community education and referrals to social service agencies, private therapists, physicians, etc.; and advocacy to promote changes in community institutions that respond to victims, e.g., hospitals, police departments and courts.

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Domestic Violence Training

The purpose of the Domestic Violence Training program is to support the DHS statewide network of domestic violence prevention and intervention grantees and the partner abuse intervention programs. The providers develop and implement a comprehensive training plan which addresses the needs of the DHS funded domestic violence network including entry level staff, supervisors and management. The training plan is responsive to current issues impacting survivors and approved by the Department.

V. Department Responsibilities

The Department will respond to the needs of the Provider as required within the full scope of the Agreement.

VI. Support Services

Utilization of Community Resources

It shall be the responsibility of each grantee to coordinate the services provided through the project with other sources of care in the community or at the state level, such as:

1. Domestic Violence services agencies
2. Sexual Assault service agencies
3. Partner Abuse Intervention Programs
4. Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
5. Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority/Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council
6. Illinois Department of Corrections Juvenile Division
7. Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professional Board
8. Administration of Illinois Courts/Local probation departments
9. DHS, Division of Mental Health/Local mental health agencies
10. DHS, Divisions of Developmental Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services/Local disability service providers
11. Illinois State Board of Education/Local schools
12. DHS, Office of Substance Use Prevention and recovery/Local substance abuse providers
13. Illinois Department of Public Health/local health departments
14. Other related social services agencies
15. Local law enforcement agencies

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VII. Billing Instructions

Providers shall use the following methodology to document the use of these funds:

1. The Provider shall provide summary documentation by line item of actual expenditures incurred for the purchase of goods and services necessary for conducting program activities. The Provider shall follow the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) {30 ILCS 708} and Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200).
2. Expenditures shall be recorded in the Provider's records in such a manner as to establish an audit trail for future verification of appropriate use of Agreement funds.
3. Expenditure documentation shall be submitted, in a format defined by the Division of Family and Community Services, to the Department on a monthly basis, within 30 days after the end of each calendar month/quarter.
4. All financial record keeping on the part of the Provider shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied.
5. Expenditure documentation forms shall be submitted to the Bureau of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking by email to DHS.DVSAHT@illinois.gov

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VIII. Program Monitoring

The service Provider, sub grantees and fiscal agent will make available to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services or the Secretary's designee, access to data, records and all facilities in which service or administrative operations are performed to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

IX. Budget

Providers agree to establish and utilize a budget approved by the Provider's Board of Directors and the Department.

The budget must be submitted through the DHS CSA system by the deadline established by the Department.

X. Applicable Rules and Statutes

The Provider shall provide services as set forth in the pertinent portions of the FCS Program Specific Manual and shall act in accordance with all state and federal statutes and administrative rules applicable to the provision of the services, including, but not limited to the following:

Federal Rules:

1. 2 CFR 200: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provisions regarding Administration of Grants.

State Statutes:

1. 20 ILCS 1310: Domestic Violence Shelters Act

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