The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced it has launched a new team that aims to reduce domestic violence as part of a statewide pilot program, saying the team will save lives.
The state’s attorney’s office said Friday that it had been selected by a statewide committee to pilot a regional Domestic Violence Fatality Review (DVFR) Team.
The team will work to prevent future domestic violence-related fatalities and to reduce the severity and frequency of domestic violence, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Five regions throughout Illinois will each have one team as a pilot program.
The Lake County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team consists of Lake County State’s Attorney First Assistant Lauren Callinan and Executive Director of A Safe Place, Pat Davenport, as the co-chairs.
Chenel Vanden Berk, a Forensic Nursing Specialist at the International Association of Forensic Nurses serves as the secretary for the team.
“The DVFR will save lives by pressing deeper into the problem of domestic violence that has plagued Illinois for centuries. Innovative and urgent approaches are the way forward to ending domestic violence, and I am so proud that our county was awarded this pilot,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.
“Thank you to the State’s Attorney’s Office for partnering and agreeing to lead the State of Illinois in developing a Regional Fatality Review committee. I believe that the process of fatality review will help us learn a great deal about improving our systems,” Davenport said.
The Lake County DVFR Team includes 30 professionals from the community who have agreed to be part of the partnership.
The group includes prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers, the coroner’s office, members of law enforcement, social service providers, offender treatment providers, a Guardian Ad Litem, DCFS personnel, nurses, substance abuse and behavioral counselors, and legal aid attorneys.
The Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act was signed into law in 2021.
Under the legislation, a statewide committee is responsible for overseeing the formation of regional domestic violence review teams across Illinois and providing technical assistance and support.
The statewide committee will gather policy and system recommendations from each regional review team and make recommendations.
The committee will serve as a statewide resource for addressing domestic violence-related fatalities and near-fatalities.
Callinan said that she is honored to co-chair such an important group.
“Legislation like this, and support from so many different disciplines in our community, are important pieces in the work of eradicating domestic violence and domestic related fatalities,” she said.
The Lake County review team has already attended training offered by the statewide committee and held its first official meeting, where the board was elected on June 23.
The other four Fatality Review Teams have been established in Will County, Madison and Bond counties, Rockford and Kankakee County.
The state’s attorney’s office said they have worked closely with A Safe Place since 1978 when the non-profit organization was founded to serve survivors of domestic violence.
In 2022, A Safe Place and the state’s attorney’s office were awarded a joint grant to reduce Human Trafficking in Lake County. Rinehart was selected to serve on A Safe Place’s Honorary Board of Directors in 2024.