State Violence Prevention

The Violence Prevention and Reduction (VPR) program provides sub-awards to agencies for violence prevention and reduction services and strategies, to mediate and intervene with conflicts, and provide other supports to reduce the shooting and homicide incidents in high need communities.

Statewide Violence Prevention Plan: 2020-2024: Review of Programs and Strategies, Needs Assessment of Violence in Illinois, and Recommendations for Funding. This innovative statewide violence prevention plan develops a framework that acknowledges youth development, family services, and investments in trauma-informed and restorative practices as prevention strategies.

The SFY25 State Budget appropriated $1,550,000 in General Revenue Funds for grants and administrative services associated with violence prevention programs, youth employment programs, and operational expenses to named entities.

CHICAGO—The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) today announced a $3.8 million funding opportunity to support community violence prevention initiatives, prevention services for children and families at risk for harm, and long-term, trauma-informed services.

Violence is a global public health crisis and a leading cause of death in Illinois. Many individuals and communities across the state experience its devastating impacts, including harm to health, mental well-being, economic stability, and relationships. Preventing violence is essential. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is committed to supporting and funding violence prevention efforts statewide. This report is intended to guide ICJIA’s violence prevention planning from 2025 to 2029. It also serves as a resource for state agencies and community organizations seeking to develop their own prevention strategies. The plan outlines three overarching violence prevention goals, with specific recommendations under each. It is designed to be actionable, flexible, and responsive to the diverse needs of Illinois communities.

Blessed Child’s Get Inspired Project will serve youth and young adults ages 12-27 in the south suburban areas of Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Matteson, Park Forest, Richton Park, and other surrounding suburbs.

The Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) provides funding to “implement state crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives, including, but not limited to, extreme risk protection order programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others, mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans treatment courts.”

In accordance with SCIP guidance, ICJIA convened a SCIP Advisory Committee to establish funding priorities and to approve a SCIP plan. The Advisory Committee established the following three priorities for the use of SCIP funding, centering community voice and incorporating research and evaluation throughout:

1. FRO training for system partners
2. FRO compliance and enforcement
3. Solicitation to support local government FRO implementation, treatment linkages, develop community infrastructure, and follow-up.

Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative grants will support the following objectives:

• Support existing community-based violence prevention agencies that have been operating their programs for at least two years; • Serve the highest risk participants, those mostly likely to shoot or be shot, through evidence-based street outreach services; • Actively participate in the GASC Community Violence Intervention-Street Outreach Community of Practice; and • Focus on high fatal and nonfatal shooting victimization communities within City of Chicago, Cook County, and Lake County.

Elite Community Outreach, Inc. addresses conflict resolution and anger management through role modeling, one-on-one mentoring, counseling referrals, and group activities and discussions.

CHICAGO—The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) today announced grant awards totaling $4.5 million in state fiscal year 2022 Community-Based Violence Prevention and Intervention Program (CBVIP) funds.

Violence prevention services in Chicago’s Albany Park and Irving Park communities.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) aims to continue funding and supporting violence prevention efforts across the state. This report was written in an effort to inform ICJIA’s violence prevention plan for 2020-2024. It included a needs assessment that aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of violence prevalence and disparities, and existing violence prevention efforts. Through the consolidation, collection, analysis, and review of data, a violence prevention planning group collectively wrote five violence prevention goals for ICJIA funding. These goals sought to stop violence and promote safety; support children youth and families by emphasizing programs that foster social connectedness and belonging; advance equity; support health; and promote collaboration across state, municipal, and community-based agencies. This report is useful for state agencies, community organizations, city and county governments, and other groups looking towards cultivating strong violence prevention initiatives. It is informed by the appendix reports, including: 1) a review of state-funded violence prevention programs; 2) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois; 3) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois by community types; and 4) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois by county.

Violence Prevention Program for City of Danville (DVPP) funds designated to the City of Danville support Project Unity. The Project Unity program will take a multifaceted approach to fostering strong relationships between citizens and law enforcement to reduce violent crime and empower youth and young adults to achieve success.

Addressing street-level violence such as murders and aggravated assaults and batteries that occur on the public way and often involve firearms requires a multi-pronged approach. One effective model for addressing street violence, and, in particular, gang-related or group-involved street violence, is the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) being Comprehensive Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Model. The model involves implementing complementary and coordinated prevention, intervention, and suppression activities in a single community. This article provides examples of evidence-based practices and programs that strengthen youth resilience and build social capital and work to reduce threats or perceived threats using the OJJDP model as a framework. The article also highlights how the model is enhanced when community stakeholders consider how trauma has impacted residents and those targeted by intervention and suppression efforts.

Violence Prevention and Street Intervention Program (VPSIP) funds designated to Metropolitan Family Services support its Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) program. CP4P provides a targeted and holistic multi-tiered approach to confronting gun violence in the highest risk neighborhoods of Chicago, implementing multiple interventions that work directly with both perpetrators and the victims of gun violence. This comprehensive response collaborates with local agencies skilled in peace, trauma, victim services, and wraparound supports and have capable outreach workers who live and work within the communities served. CP4P partner agencies are fully integrated within the neighborhoods, allowing them to establish authentic relationships and be responsive to incidences of gun violence and the needs of those impacted by it.

The 2025-2029 Statewide Violence Prevention Plan serves as a framework for grantmaking that can create more resilient, safe, and thriving communities.

The street-level violence prevention field includes a range of professionals fulfilling specific roles in various programs. This literature review focuses on violence interrupters as a specific type of outreach worker and the programs that utilize them. Violence interrupters embed themselves within specific areas of communities experiencing elevated levels of violence and mediate emerging conflicts between groups and/or individuals to interrupt the cycle of violence. This review describes the theoretical frameworks guiding the design of these programs, the role of violence interrupters, and program implementations. It also summarizes results from the research literature that evaluates these programs. The literature suggests that violence interrupters are successful at reaching the target population. The research on the effects of these programs on community violence shows that most experience initial success followed by challenges maintaining that success. Program instability from funding and employee turnover likely reduce the effectiveness of VI programs. The dangerous and stressful nature of the work and the relatively poor level of monetary compensation drives the high turnover of VIs. The high social and economic cost of violence suggests that VI programs “pay for themselves” by preventing violence. Overall, evidence suggests violence interrupters are a valuable part of the violence prevention field, but researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to be aware of violence interrupters’ strengths, limitations, and the supports needed for them to work effectively.

The Kankakee County States Attorney Office will implement a violence prevention program to provide after school activities, community-based social services to victims of violence, and operate a father’s project with the goal of strengthening relationships between fathers and their children who have been involved in gun violence.

The Lake County States Attorney Office will adapt the public health approach of the Cure Violence model to address gun violence in Lake County. This model uses disease control methods to stop violence through: 1) Identification and detection of individuals and scenarios that need to be addressed; 2) Interruption, intervention, and risk reduction of the violence by interacting with the individuals who cause violence; and 3) Change behaviors and norms with those individuals.

Violence is a pervasive part of society with severe and long-lasting negative consequences for health and well-being. In Illinois, interpersonal violence takes many shapes and affects people across the state. Partnerships to reduce interpersonal violence can benefit from a mutual understanding of the variety of violence prevention approaches. To support understanding and collaboration, this article discusses fundamental ideas and important terms related to efforts focused on preventing violence.

Illinois’ firearm restraining orders, known in other states as “red flag laws” or “extreme risk protection orders,” are civil orders that temporarily remove firearms from individuals who are a potential danger to themselves or others. These laws aim to prevent firearm injury through a removal of means from persons experiencing a temporary crisis. Data suggest firearm restraining orders have been infrequently employed in Illinois since the law’s enactment in 2019. Nationally, initial research suggests that these types of laws are associated with reductions in firearm suicide. However, national findings have not conclusively shown a significant reduction in firearm assaults attributable to these laws. As the majority of these laws have been passed relatively recently, more research is needed as data become available on their usage and outcomes.

Bullying includes repeated, unwanted aggression from peers with a perceived or observed power imbalance; bullying can be physical, verbal, relational, or through electronic means, and bullying impacts about 20% of high school students in the United States. It is imperative that schools implement policies that make schools safer and prevent bullying. In Illinois, schools are required to educate students, parents, and school personnel on prohibited bullying behaviors, and to create, maintain, and implement a bullying prevention policy. Although Illinois has specific laws to address bullying, it is important to assess school compliance with those laws. This report examined bullying policies from a stratified random sample of 400 middle and high schools (representing Northern, Southern, and Central regions, as well as Cook County/Chicago). For each school, we coded the bullying policy content according to the Illinois State Board of Education policy requirements, and examined policy compliance (i.e., the entire bullying policy, with all required statute components included) in relation to rates of bullying. Of the 400 schools, 60% had the entire bullying policy, with all statute components, in their school or district handbook. School districts with incomplete or missing policies had significantly higher rates of verbal and cyber forms of bullying, and threats of bullying, compared to school districts with complete policies. Our findings highlighted the need for the Illinois State Board of Education to continue working with schools around bullying policy implementation and inclusion. Lastly, our study calls attention to the importance of schools having full policies within their school or district handbooks.

In 2013, the Community Violence Prevention Programs Youth Employment Program (YEP) offered job readiness training, mentoring, and summer employment to approximately 1,800 youth participants in 24 Chicago-area communities. The evaluation of YEP was designed to guide programmatic enhancements and funding decisions. Researchers used multiple surveys of program staff and participants in order to obtain feedback on trainings for participants, the employment component, mentoring component, and general program operations. The program met its goals of increasing job readiness skills; building relationships between youth and a caring adult; increasing youth productive time and community engagement; and improving the community through community service.

Cydney Wessel is ICJIA’s American Rescue Plan Act and Violence Prevention Program manager. Prior to joining ICJIA, Ms. Wessel was the DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau, Inc., executive director. Ms. Wessel spent 25 years working for the Healthy Families America (HFA) program, an internationally recognized, evidence-based, in-home family support program. She was instrumental in ensuring HFA was designated as a proven and effective model by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services leading to a nationwide expansion of services through the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. Ms. Wessel earned a master of social work with a focus on child and family therapy and administration at the University of Wisconsin Helen Bader School of Social Work and a master of business administration at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Acclivus, Inc. supports community health and well-being for populations at risk for violence and other negative health outcomes. Acclivus provides evidence-based violence prevention and reduction programming in partnership with community-based grassroots organizations, community leaders, hospitals, and other stakeholders. Funds will support Acclivus’ hospital intervention programming, community-based violence prevention programming, and subawards to communities for direct services.

Discover how your organization can use the plan to secure funding and develop effective programs within your community.

Join us October 9, at 10 a.m. for an overview and an insightful panel discussion on ICJIA’s 2025-2029 Statewide Violence Prevention Plan.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (Authority) researchers conducted an evaluation of the Community Violence Prevention Program’s (CVPP) Parent Program. The program, which ended August 2014, sought to increase protective factors to reduce child maltreatment by employing and training nearly 1,000 Chicago-area parents to lead service projects to help other parents in 20 communities. The Center for the Study of Social Policy stated that effective parenting programs to prevent child maltreatment attempt to improve parent understanding of child development and teach child management (2003). In addition, those that are parent-led promote parental resilience and inter-parent connections.Authority researchers analyzed multiple surveys of more than 3,500 staff and participants, as well as administrative data to obtain feedback on training and general program operations.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority researchers conducted an evaluation of the Community Violence Prevention Program’s (CVPP) Parent Program. The program, which ended August 2014, sought to increase protective factors to reduce child maltreatment by employing and training nearly 1,000 Chicago-area parents to lead service projects to help other parents in 20 communities.

In 2013, the Reentry Program, one of three components of the state of Illinois Community Violence Prevention Program (CVPP), provided services to youth and young adults on parole in 12 Chicago communities to help them transition back to their communities and reduce recidivism. ICJIA researchers conducted an exploratory study though interviews with the programs case managers to learn how the program operated and make recommendations to change and enhance the program.

In 2013, the Parent Program component provided 1,010 parents in 21 Chicago-area communities training and then coordinated their participation in community service projects. The Parent Program is one of three programs offered through the Community Violence Prevention Program (CVPP). Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) researchers used administrative data and developed four surveys to evaluate the Parent Program and answer key research questions. These included a training evaluation survey, a pre- and post-survey (given at the beginning and end of the program), and two exit surveys.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority researchers conducted an evaluation of the Community Violence Prevention Program’s Youth Employment Program. The program, which ended in August 2014, sought to increase job readiness skills, build relationships with a caring adult, improve attitudes toward employment and violence, increase self-esteem and conflict resolution skills, and offer community service and engagement.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, February 26, 2026 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle Street, Room N-502, Chicago, Illinois 60601

2. ICJIA Offices 524 South 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62706

This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, October 23, 2025 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. 555 W. Monroe, Lincoln Room - 4th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661

2. ICJIA Offices 524 South 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62706

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, August 21, 2025 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. Michael A. Bilandic Buiding 160 N. LaSalle St. Room N-505 Chicago, Illinois, 60601

2. ICJIA Offices 524 South 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62706

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority VIOLENCE PREVENTION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment. Date and Time Thursday August 14,2025, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM Videoconference Link Emailed to Members

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, April 17, 2025 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. 555 W. Monroe, Lincoln Room - 4th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60661

2. ICJIA Offices 524 South 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62706

Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Public notice is hereby given that the ICJIA Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on February 13th, 2025, at 10:00 A.M. WebEx Webinar link and Call-in information is available on the agenda. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, December 19, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. The Michael A. Bilandic Building 160 N. LaSalle St., Room N505 Chicago, Illinois 60661

2. ICJIA Offices 524 S. 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62701

VIOLENCE PREVENTION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Public notice is hereby given that the ICJIA Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on November 13th, 2024, at 10:00 A.M. WebEx Webinar link and Call-in information is available on the agenda. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, October 24, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. The Michael A. Bilandic Building 160 N. LaSalle St., Room N505 Chicago, Illinois 60661

2. ICJIA Offices 524 S. 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62701

Public notice is hereby given that the ICJIA Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on August 8th, 2024, at 10:00 A.M. Call-in information is available on the agenda. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, July 18, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. Michael A. Bilandic Building 160 N. LaSalle Street Room N-502 Chicago, Illinois, 60661

2. ICJIA Offices 524 South 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62706

Public notice is hereby given that the ICJIA Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on May 9, 2024, at 10:00 A.M. Call-in information is available on the agenda. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Date and Time Thursday, February 8th, 2024 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

Videoconference Teleconference: Videoconference Link Emailed

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, December 14, 2023 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. Michael A. Bilandic Building 160 N. LaSalle St., Room N502 Chicago, Illinois 60601

2. ICJIA Offices 524 S. 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62701

This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Budget Committee Meeting

Thursday, October 19, 2023 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Two Locations:

1. Michael A. Bilandic Building 160 N. LaSalle St., Room N505 Chicago, Illinois 60601

2. ICJIA Offices 524 S. 2nd Street, Suite 220 Springfield, Illinois 62701

Public notice is hereby given that the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on 8/10/23, at 10:00 am by WebEx. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

Public notice is hereby given that the ICJIA Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee will conduct a public meeting on February 23rd at 10:00 am. via WebEx. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is requesting proposals for grants for the Albany Park/Irving Park – Violence Prevention NOFO. A grant will be made using SFY23 funds. A total of $180,000 in funding is available through this solicitation for use over a period of 3 months.

This serves as Public Notice of the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee Regular Meeting to be held at the date, time and location set forth below. All interested parties are invited to attend and will be given the opportunity for public comment.

STATEWIDE VIOLENCE PREVENTION AD HOC COMMITTEE September 8th, 2022 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Location: Via Webex Video Conference/Teleconference

STATEWIDE VIOLENCE PREVENTION AD HOC COMMITTEE JUNE 9, 2022 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Location: Via Webex Video Conference/Teleconference

FEBRUARY 10, 2022, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

We are looking for an experienced and strategic Violence Prevention Program Administrator to work at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority in the Federal and State Grants Unit (FSGU). FSGU offers a rich environment for a self-driven person with experience. Violence Prevention Program Administrator responsibilities include managing a team of grant specialists, refining the grant administration process, writing and editing components of Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), ensuring compliance with grant regulations, reviewing grant proposals, managing grant databases, and reviewing progress and financial reports. The ideal candidate for this role should have superior organizational skills, and exceptional budgeting and monitoring skills. The Violence Prevention Program Administrator will reinforce relationships with grantees, and will aid in serving the public by leading a team to ensure grantee success in effective and growing programs.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is requesting proposals for Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention (CBVIP) grants. Grants will be made with SFY22 CBVIP funds. A total of $3,833,00 in funding is available for a comprehensive array of community-based violence prevention and intervention services.

STATEWIDE VIOLENCE PREVENTION AD HOC COMMITTEE, November 4, 2021, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM Webex Video Conference/Teleconference

Location: Via Webex Video Conference/Teleconference

Location: Via Webex Video Conference/Teleconference

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is requesting proposals for grants Violence Prevention Planning and One Time Supports. Grants will be made with SFY 2020 Violence Prevention and Street Intervention funds. A total of $8,336,326 in funding is available through this solicitation for use over a period of 6 months.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is requesting a proposal from Metropolitan Family Services for a grant to fund Violence Prevention and Street Intervention. The grant will be made with SFS state fiscal year 2020 funds. A total of $2,250,000 in funding is available through this solicitation for use over a period of ten months.

Violence is a global public health crisis and a leading cause of death in Illinois. Many individuals and communities across the state experience its devastating impacts, including harm to health, mental well-being, economic stability, and relationships. Preventing violence is essential. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is committed to supporting and funding violence prevention efforts statewide. This report is intended to guide ICJIA’s violence prevention planning from 2025 to 2029. It also serves as a resource for state agencies and community organizations seeking to develop their own prevention strategies. The plan outlines three overarching violence prevention goals, with specific recommendations under each. It is designed to be actionable, flexible, and responsive to the diverse needs of Illinois communities.

Bullying includes repeated, unwanted aggression from peers with a perceived or observed power imbalance; bullying can be physical, verbal, relational, or through electronic means, and bullying impacts about 20% of high school students in the United States. It is imperative that schools implement policies that make schools safer and prevent bullying. In Illinois, schools are required to educate students, parents, and school personnel on prohibited bullying behaviors, and to create, maintain, and implement a bullying prevention policy. Although Illinois has specific laws to address bullying, it is important to assess school compliance with those laws. This report examined bullying policies from a stratified random sample of 400 middle and high schools (representing Northern, Southern, and Central regions, as well as Cook County/Chicago). For each school, we coded the bullying policy content according to the Illinois State Board of Education policy requirements, and examined policy compliance (i.e., the entire bullying policy, with all required statute components included) in relation to rates of bullying. Of the 400 schools, 60% had the entire bullying policy, with all statute components, in their school or district handbook. School districts with incomplete or missing policies had significantly higher rates of verbal and cyber forms of bullying, and threats of bullying, compared to school districts with complete policies. Our findings highlighted the need for the Illinois State Board of Education to continue working with schools around bullying policy implementation and inclusion. Lastly, our study calls attention to the importance of schools having full policies within their school or district handbooks.

The street-level violence prevention field includes a range of professionals fulfilling specific roles in various programs. This literature review focuses on violence interrupters as a specific type of outreach worker and the programs that utilize them. Violence interrupters embed themselves within specific areas of communities experiencing elevated levels of violence and mediate emerging conflicts between groups and/or individuals to interrupt the cycle of violence. This review describes the theoretical frameworks guiding the design of these programs, the role of violence interrupters, and program implementations. It also summarizes results from the research literature that evaluates these programs. The literature suggests that violence interrupters are successful at reaching the target population. The research on the effects of these programs on community violence shows that most experience initial success followed by challenges maintaining that success. Program instability from funding and employee turnover likely reduce the effectiveness of VI programs. The dangerous and stressful nature of the work and the relatively poor level of monetary compensation drives the high turnover of VIs. The high social and economic cost of violence suggests that VI programs “pay for themselves” by preventing violence. Overall, evidence suggests violence interrupters are a valuable part of the violence prevention field, but researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to be aware of violence interrupters’ strengths, limitations, and the supports needed for them to work effectively.

Illinois’ firearm restraining orders, known in other states as “red flag laws” or “extreme risk protection orders,” are civil orders that temporarily remove firearms from individuals who are a potential danger to themselves or others. These laws aim to prevent firearm injury through a removal of means from persons experiencing a temporary crisis. Data suggest firearm restraining orders have been infrequently employed in Illinois since the law’s enactment in 2019. Nationally, initial research suggests that these types of laws are associated with reductions in firearm suicide. However, national findings have not conclusively shown a significant reduction in firearm assaults attributable to these laws. As the majority of these laws have been passed relatively recently, more research is needed as data become available on their usage and outcomes.

Bullying is a form of violence that can leave lasting negative effects on school-aged youth. This literature review examines research on bullying frequency, predictors and impacts, and prevention and intervention programs. Research finds that between 20% and 40% of youth in the United States have experienced bullying (with variances in data sources and groups examined) and that there are a host of negative outcomes for those exposed to it. Programs that address bullying vary, but there are several promising interventions to address the issue.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) aims to continue funding and supporting violence prevention efforts across the state. This report was written in an effort to inform ICJIA’s violence prevention plan for 2020-2024. It included a needs assessment that aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of violence prevalence and disparities, and existing violence prevention efforts. Through the consolidation, collection, analysis, and review of data, a violence prevention planning group collectively wrote five violence prevention goals for ICJIA funding. These goals sought to stop violence and promote safety; support children youth and families by emphasizing programs that foster social connectedness and belonging; advance equity; support health; and promote collaboration across state, municipal, and community-based agencies. This report is useful for state agencies, community organizations, city and county governments, and other groups looking towards cultivating strong violence prevention initiatives.

It is informed by the appendix reports, including: 1) a review of state-funded violence prevention programs; 2) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois; 3) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois by community types; and 4) a needs assessment of violence in Illinois by county.

Violence is a pervasive part of society with severe and long-lasting negative consequences for health and well-being. In Illinois, interpersonal violence takes many shapes and affects people across the state. Partnerships to reduce interpersonal violence can benefit from a mutual understanding of the variety of violence prevention approaches. To support understanding and collaboration, this article discusses fundamental ideas and important terms related to efforts focused on preventing violence.

This brief highlights the benefits of, components to, and considerations for developing a logic model. For a downloadable logic model template, please see the PDF version of the brief.

Addressing street-level violence such as murders and aggravated assaults and batteries that occur on the public way and often involve firearms requires a multi-pronged approach. One effective model for addressing street violence, and, in particular, gang-related or group-involved street violence, is the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Model. The model involves implementing complementary and coordinated prevention, intervention, and suppression activities in a single community. This article provides examples of evidence-based practices and programs that strengthen youth resilience and build social capital and work to reduce threats or perceived threats using the OJJDP model as a framework. The article also highlights how the model is enhanced when community stakeholders consider how trauma has impacted residents and those targeted by intervention and suppression efforts.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority researchers conducted an evaluation of the Community Violence Prevention Program’s (CVPP) Parent Program. The program, which ended August 2014, sought to increase protective factors to reduce child maltreatment by employing and training nearly 1,000 Chicago-area parents to lead service projects to help other parents in 20 communities.