Illinois Criminal JusticeInfoNet is a web-based data collection and reporting system used by victim service providers in Illinois. The system is nationally recognized for facilitating standardized data collection and reporting at the statewide level. Initial development of InfoNet began in the mid-90s as a collaborative effort between the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Since then, InfoNet has grown to include partnerships with the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois.
The primary purposes of InfoNet are to:
ICJIA will release new InfoNet features July 1, marking the system’s first upgrade since the release of InfoNet 2.0.
New features include:
The Center for Victim Research hosted a national webinar on March 14 to demonstrate Illinois’ InfoNet System for other states. ICJIA staff presented an overview of InfoNet and lessons learned throughout its development. Please click here to view the webinar recording: Illinois Infonet: Gathering Statewide Victim Services Data .
The Center for Victim Research is a project funded by the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, and is a partnership of the Justice Research and Statistics Association with the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Urban Institute. More information is available at victimresearch.org .
ICJIA received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime to improve and expand InfoNet. Funding will be used to build more automated data reporting tools and collect meaningful service outcome measures to track progress and identify changing circumstances in a victim’s life, including safety and overall well-being. InfoNet also will receive a new interface that meets data collection and reporting needs of law enforcement and prosecutor-based victim service providers. The interface will allow data collection on victims of gun and gang violence and survivors of homicide, widening InfoNet’s application to all forms of victimization.
InfoNet 2.0’s “go-live” date is Tuesday, April 24, 2018! Below are links to QuickStart webinars, intended to help those users already familiar with InfoNet learn the advanced features and functions of 2.0.
Questions? Email cja.infonethelp@illinois.gov
Basic information about all victims (clients) who receive services from a community based service provider is entered into InfoNet, including demographics, health insurance, employment, education, marital status, income source, referral source, and special needs. The type of victimization and severity of abuse is also captured, as well as victim interactions with legal and health care systems. Data are also entered about the abuser’s involvement with the criminal justice system, including arrests, charges filed, case dispositions, and sentences. Information is added to a client’s record over time, creating a history of services and events. Information that could be used to identify a client, such as name or birth date, is not entered into InfoNet. Rather, a unique number is used to track each client.
Additionally, service providers enter all services provided by staff and volunteers. This includes services to clients such as crisis intervention and court advocacy, as well as services to the community such as prevention, training and public awareness. Administrative information entered into InfoNet includes staff funding sources and allowable services, which is used to generate reports that reflect grant specific information.
Remote users access InfoNet via the Internet. Several levels of security have been built into the system, including password protection at the organizational, individual and device levels. InfoNet uses a virtual private network (VPN) that encrypts data securely as it transports information between users and Authority InfoNet servers.
This centralized system shifts technical responsibilities for maintaining a data collection and reporting system from service providers, which often have little to no resources for information technology, to technical professionals at ICJIA. Service providers may use InfoNet at no cost, but they are responsible for obtaining a device that meets minimum specifications and an Internet connection.
InfoNet includes a comprehensive set of reporting tools that facilitate data mining and analysis. These tools include standard reports that meet most state and federal reporting requirements, as well as management reports and data filters that assist case tracking and staff management. InfoNet reports are also utilized on local, regional and state levels to identify emerging trends and target limited resources where they are most needed.
As of July 2015, InfoNet contains nearly 18 years of data, totaling more than 900,000 client records and 15 million service contacts.
Three types of service providers use InfoNet – child advocacy, domestic violence, and sexual assault cetners. Data from all three types are maintained in one system, but user interfaces are tailored to the unique needs of each type. A total of 109 local service providers access InfoNet from nearly 200 sites statewide. They include 67 domestic violence centers, 34 sexual assault centers and eight child advocacy centers. In addition to ICJIA, ICADV, ICASA and DHS access InfoNet for grant monitoring, informing funding priorities, and strategic planning.
| Service Provider | City |
|---|---|
| Mercer County Child Advocacy Center | Aledo |
| Child Advocacy Center of McLean County | Bloomington |
| Child Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois | Charleston |
| Family Service Agency’s Child Advocacy Center of DeKalb County | DeKalb |
| Shining Star Children’s Center | Dixon |
| Child Network | Kankakee |
| La Rabida Children’s Advocacy Center | Park Forest |
| Child Advocacy Center of McHenry County | Woodstock |
| Service Provider | City |
|---|---|
| Hamdard Center for Health & Human Services | Addison |
| Mercer County Family Crisis Center | Aledo |
| Oasis Women’s Center | Alton |
| Mutual Ground, Inc. - DV Program | Aurora |
| Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois | Belleville |
| Mid Central Community Action, Inc., Neville House | Bloomington |
| Arab American Family Services | Bridgeview |
| Cairo Women’s Shelter, Inc. | Cairo |
| Fulton Mason Crisis Service | Canton |
| The Women’s Center, Inc. | Carbondale |
| People Against Violent Environments (PAVE) | Centralia |
| Courage Connection | Champaign |
| HOPE of East Central Illinois | Charleston |
| Apna Ghar, Inc. | Chicago |
| Between Friends | Chicago |
| Chicago Hearing Society - Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center | Chicago |
| Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC) | Chicago |
| Domestic Violence Legal Clinic | Chicago |
| Family Rescue, Inc. | Chicago |
| Healthcare Alternative Systems, Inc., Basta! DV Program | Chicago |
| Howard Area Community Center | Chicago |
| Howard Brown Health Center | Chicago |
| Kauai’s Fire | Chicago |
| Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAF) | Chicago |
| Metropolitan Family Services | Chicago |
| Mujeres Latinas en Accion - DV Program | Chicago |
| Neopolitan Lighthouse | Chicago |
| New Hope Community Service Center | Chicago |
| Polish American Association | Chicago |
| Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital | Chicago |
| Wellspring Center for Hope | Chicago |
| Crosspoint Human Services | Danville |
| Dove, Inc. | Decatur |
| Safe Passage, Inc. - DV Program | DeKalb |
| Korean American Women in Need (KANWIN) | Des Plaines |
| LifeSpan - DV Program | Des Plaines |
| Community Crisis Center, Inc. - DV Program | Elgin |
| YWCA Evanston - North Shore | Evanston |
| VOICES of Stephenson County - DV Program | Freeport |
| Riverview Center - DV Program | Galena |
| Safe Harbor Family Crisis Center | Galesburg |
| Phoenix Crisis Center, Inc. | Granite City |
| Anna Bixby’s Women’s Center | Harrisburg |
| South Suburban Family Shelter | Homewood |
| Crisis Center Foundation | Jacksonville |
| Groundwork - Guardian Angel Community Services | Joliet |
| Kankakee County Coalition Against Domestic Violence (KCCADV) | Kankakee |
| Constance Morris House, Pillars Community Services | LaGrange Park |
| Western Illinois Regional Council (WIRC) - DV Program | Macomb |
| Sarah’s Inn | Oak Park |
| Stopping Women Abuse Now (SWAN) | Olney |
| Women in Need of Growing Stronger (WINGS) | Palatine |
| Center for Prevention of Abuse - DV Program | Peoria |
| Freedom House, Inc. - DV Program | Princeton |
| Quanada - DV Program | Quincy |
| HOPE of Ogle County | Rochelle |
| Christian Care Domestic Violence Shelter | Rock Island |
| Family Resources’ SafePath Suvivor Resources | Rock Island |
| Remedies Renewing Lives | Rockford |
| Sojourn Shelter and Services, Inc. | Springfield |
| YWCA of the Sauk Valley | Sterling |
| ADV & SAS - DV Program | Streator |
| Crisis Center for South Suburbia | Tinley Park |
| BETH’S Place | Tuscola |
| Family Shelter Service | Wheaton |
| Turning Point, Inc. | Woodstock |
| A Safe Place, Inc. | Zion |
| Service Provider | City |
|---|---|
| Northwest Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CASA) | Arlington Heights |
| Mutual Ground, Inc. - SA Program | Aurora |
| Stepping Stones | Bloomington |
| Rape Crisis Services of the Women’s Center | Carbondale |
| Sexual Assault Counseling & Information Service (SACIS) | Charleston |
| Mujeres Latinas en Accion - SA Program | Chicago |
| Rape Victim Advocates (RVA) | Chicago |
| YWCA Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago |
| YWCA Metropolitan Chicago RISE Children’s Center | Chicago |
| YWCA Metropolitan Chicago South Suburban Center | Chicago Heights |
| Vermilion County Rape Crisis Center | Danville |
| Growing Strong Sexual Assault Center | Decatur |
| Safe Passage, Inc. - SA Program | DeKalb |
| LifeSpan - SA Program | Des Plaines |
| Call for Help, Inc. | East St. Louis |
| Community Crisis Center, Inc. - SA Program | Elgin |
| VOICES of Stephenson County - SA Program | Freeport |
| Riverview Center - SA Program | Galena |
| YWCA Metropolitan Chicago Patterson & McDaniel Family Center | Glendale Heights |
| Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center | Gurnee |
| Guardian Angel Home - Sexual Assault Center Service Center | Joliet |
| Kankakee County Center Against Sexual Assault | Kankakee |
| Pillars Community Services - SA Program | LaGrange Park |
| Western Illinois Regional Council (WIRC) - SA Program | Macomb |
| Center for Prevention of Abuse | Peoria |
| Freedom House - SA Program | Princeton |
| Quanada Sexual Assault Program | Quincy |
| Family Resources, Inc. - SA Program | Rock Island |
| Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling, Inc. | Rockford |
| Prairie Center | Springfield |
| YWCA of the Sauk Valley - SA Program | Sterling |
| ADV & SAS - SA Program | Streator |
| Rape, Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services (RACES) | Urbana |
| Sexual Assault and Family Emergencies (SAFE) | Vandalia |
Domestic violence is a national public health issue that both federal and state funding work to address. Researchers analyzed data collected via InfoNet, a statewide case management and data reporting system used by domestic violence agencies across Illinois, and other state administrative data, to identify trends among those who have been harmed by domestic violence. Researchers found shifts in the number and characteristics of clients served, including an increase in clients who are veterans, older adults, and those who shared child custody with the offender. However, further research is needed to fully understand the unique needs of these client groups and how funding shifts may impact services in Illinois.
Research suggests violence against women is a leading cause of U.S. homelessness and housing instability for women and their children. Transitional housing programs offer stable housing to women and their children who have been harmed by violence. Researchers conducted a process evaluation of three Illinois transitional housing programs. Overall, the study revealed the programs provided a vital service to victims and staff and client statements reflected positively on the program. The study highlighted areas for program enhancement, including offering more education on tenant rights; expansion and engagement of victims; funding for additional services, such as food assistance, transportation, and childcare; and increased program awareness.
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