Authority History
Established by the Illinois Violence Prevention Act of 1995, the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA) is the first state agency of its kind dedicated to violence prevention in the United States. In creating the IVPA, the Illinois State Legislature recognized the need for a comprehensive, collaborative public health and public safety approach to violence prevention.
The IVPA is co-chaired by the Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, and the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Damon Arnold, M.D., MPH. The Authority’s board includes state agency directors and appointed private sector officials working in the area of violence prevention.
Primary Goals
In keeping with its mandate, the IVPA has defined five main goals:
- Develop and implement a statewide plan for violence prevention
- Fund local and statewide anti-violence programs
- Coordinate existing violence prevention initiatives and encourage collaborative projects
- Evaluate and provide technical assistance for violence prevention programming
- Conduct public education and awareness efforts about violence and its prevention
Background on Primary Goals
Planning
The IVPA’s initial planning document, “Building a Safe Illinois: A Violence Prevention Plan for Illinois”, outlined the scope of interpersonal violence in Illinois and presented the risk factors and best practices associated with violence prevention. Based on this information and a survey of the violence prevention field, the IVPA developed a 3-year anti-violence grant program that included funding priorities and implementation strategies. Since that planning period, IVPA has developed two five-year strategic plans. For more information on our current grant programs see Grant Information.
Funding
The Authority distributes grants statewide through a program that recognizes effective violence prevention efforts. In cooperation with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, the IVPA generates monies to support funding activities through the sale of specially designed “Prevent Violence” (PV) license plates. Since the PV plate became available in 1996, over $8.4 million has been generated for violence prevention efforts in Illinois. In 1999, state general revenue funds (GRF) became an additional source for IVPA funding.
Initially, the Authority established three funding priorities: family violence prevention, youth violence prevention, and community safety. In 2003, the agency introduced more focused grants targeted to particular systems or populations. Examples include Safe From the Start, a program that works to reduce the impact of children’s exposure to violence, and Illinois Health Cares, a program that helps health providers better prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse. For more information see Grant Information.
IVPA members review and score proposals for funding and make recommendations to the Authority Board. The Authority’s enabling legislation authorizes IVPA to provide funding for programs that address the following areas:
- Community-based youth violence prevention programs (mentoring programs, after-school programs, job programs, etc.)
- Implementation and evaluation of comprehensive Pre-K-12 school-based violence prevention programs
- Early childhood intervention programs (0-5) designed to prevent violence and identify and serve children and families at risk
- Family violence and sexual assault prevention initiatives
- Programs that integrate violence prevention initiatives with healthcare provision or alcohol and substance abuse prevention efforts
- Innovative community policing or law enforcement approaches to violence prevention
- Technical assistance and training to help build the capacity of communities, organizations, and systems to develop, implement, and evaluate violence prevention programs
- Over the past ten years, IVPA has awarded nearly $64.4 million to over 1,500 grantees throughout Illinois.
Coordinating
The IVPA plays a leadership role in linking together violence prevention efforts throughout the state. IVPA accomplishes this through coordinating and collaborating the violence prevention efforts of the state and local agencies represented on the Authority Board, and emphasizing multi-disciplinary, collaborative, prevention efforts. IVPA also actively works with other agencies and organizations in the private sector, encouraging networking and exchange of best practice models. As a result, diverse violence prevention initiatives benefit from the increased efficiencies resulting from partnerships.
Evaluating and Technical Assistance
Ongoing evaluation allows IVPA to maintain a cohesive violence prevention strategy as new programs come into being and existing programs evolve.
Projects funded by IVPA are responsible for meeting the Authority’s evaluation criteria and are given the assistance and support of IVPA in achieving their goals. In addition, the Authority provides technical assistance to help communities and organizations develop and successfully implement their anti-violence programs.
