Monday, March 23rd, 2020
We are grateful for your ongoing commitment to supporting domestic violence victims. The IDHS/Bureau of Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention is aware of the extraordinary efforts that our community based domestic violence agencies have undertaken in order to maintain the best possible level of services during the COVID-19 crisis. You are indeed a creative, resourceful and resilient network of professionals.
We appreciate your response to the "Current Status of Services" survey as it has provided valuable information to inform the bureau's next steps. As mentioned in the Secretary's message to providers, we understand that there are changes in services and we will not penalize providers for taking necessary measures to promote the health and safety of staff, victims and the community at large.
The bureau has been working diligently with the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Network and IDHS executive staff to develop response strategies. We will release more details to you in the upcoming days about additional resources that IDHS is making available to support victims. At this time, we ask that you continue to provide services as much as possible while following the guidance of IDHS, Centers for Disease Control, the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments.
It is an honor to work with you and we look forward to a continued partnership. If you have questions, a change in status of services or need to contact bureau staff for any reason, please email DHS.DVSAHT@illinois.gov. All bureau staff have access to the email and will be actively monitoring it.
