ABOUT DVFR
The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act (Public Act 102-0520) was signed into law in August 2021 creating a process to establish domestic violence fatality review (DVFR) teams across Illinois.
What is fatality review?
Fatality reviews consist of multi-disciplinary, multi-agency teams of stakeholders working together to examine data from a variety of sources to piece together the days, months, and years leading up to a person’s death.
Domestic Violence Fatality Review aims to prevent future domestic violence related fatalities and near fatalities and reduce the severity and frequency of domestic violence. This process is accomplished by looking at both strengths and vulnerabilities in various intervention that may lead to adverse outcomes for survivors, victims, and their families.
Fatality review teams have been established in other fields, including those specific to fatalities involving child victims, elderly abuse and neglect, aviation, and more recently, deaths related to the opioid epidemic.
Statewide DVFR Committee
The Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee is responsible for overseeing the formation of regional domestic violence review teams across Illinois and providing technical assistance and support to those teams. The Statewide Committee will gather policy and system recommendations from each regional review team and make collective recommendations The Committee will serve as a statewide resource for addressing domestic violence-related fatalities and near-fatalities.
Officers
Megan Alderdan, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Dr. Megan Alderdan is an Associate Professor of Criminology at DePaul University. Her areas of expertise include research methods and program evaluation, victimology, and policing. She was a co-Investigator on two National Institute of Justice funded projects examining the impact of forensic evidence on police and prosecutorial decisions and court outcomes in sexual assault cases. Currently, she is a co-investigator on a federally funded project that focuses on educating and training laypersons, practitioners, and mental health professionals on how to identify and prevent targeted violence. She is the lead evaluator for a federally funded research project that aims to support and link recently incarcerated individuals with job training and employment. She is the Board President for the Justice Research and Statistics Association and the co-chair of the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission.
Prior to joining DePaul University, she was the Associate Director of Research with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), a state agency dedicated to improving the administration of justice in Illinois. As the ICJIA Research Director, she oversaw a wide portfolio of research projects that spanned from victim services to effective correctional practices and policies.
Sara Block, Co-Chair
Sara Block is the Managing Director of Advocacy and Partnerships at Ascend Justice where she focuses on policy and systemic reform that impact families experiencing domestic violence. Sara is also the Academic Director for Child and Family Law Programs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
In the Master of Jurisprudence in Child Law program at Loyola, Sara teaches Child Welfare Law and Policy, and Juvenile Justice Law Policy. Sara was a Skadden Fellow at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago with a fellowship focusing on the intersection of domestic violence and child welfare. Sara was awarded the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network’s Outstanding Partnership Award, the Family Defense Center’s Major Litigation Award for her involvement in Julie Q. v. DCFS, and the Jewish United Fund’s “36 Under 36” award. Sara received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2007, where she was a Child Law Fellow and the Features Editor of the Children’s Legal Rights Journal. Sara received her B.A. degree with honors in American Studies from Northwestern University. Sara is the author of the book entitled Together Unbroken: Stories, Law, Practice and Healing at the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare. She has two daughters and feels honored to be their mother.
Jenny Schoenwetter, Secretary
Jenny Schoenwetter (pronounced “shane-wetter”) is the executive director and CEO of Harbor House, the only domestic violence agency serving Kankakee and Iroquois Counties. Jenny is a Certified Domestic Violence Professional and earned a Master’s in Business Administration degree. Jenny has received the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Young Professionals Award in 2021, the Daily Journal’s Women in Business Honor in 2021, and United Way’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2016.
Jenny serves as a member of the Illinois Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee and is co-chair of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Funding Oversight Committee. Jenny served as a board member for the United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois Counties where she developed and launched Women United and the Zonta Club of Kankakee. She regularly leads professional trainings, serves on panels, and facilitates workshops and retreats locally and across the state.
Committee Members
Members are appointed in accordance with terms of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act, 750 ILCS 62. The membership of DVFRC is required to have racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity.
- Dr. Megan Alderden, Co - Chair
Associate Professor of Criminology
DePaul University - Hon. Robert J. Anderson
Judge, Retired
18th Judicial Circuit Court - Willette Benford
Survivor and Director of Re-Entry
City of Chicago - Sara Block, Co-Chair
Managing Director of Advocacy and Partnerships
Ascend Justice - Jennifer Cacciapaglia
Executive Director
Mayor’s Office of Domestic Violence and Community Violence Prevention
City of Rockford - Wendy Cohen
Senior Policy Advisor
Office of the Illinois Attorney General - Patrick Delfino
Director
Illinois State’s Attorney
Appellate Prosecutor’s Office - Dr. Thomas Golebiewski
L.C.S.W. in Private Practice Psychotherapy and Counseling
Adjunct Professor at Loyola University School of Social Work - Jennifer Greene
Director of Policy and Advocacy
Life Span - Meg Hefty
Associate Director
Sarah’s Inn - Sheriff Andrew Hires
Richland County Sherriff - Carolyn Klarquist
Supervisor & Assistant Defender
Office of the State Appellate Defender - Major Dan Likens
Illinois State Police
Division of Criminal Investigations - Jenna Lopez
Sexual Assault & Legal Advocacy Program Manager
YWCA Sauk Valley - Rep. Patrick Windhorst
Republican Floor Leader
117th District Illinois House of Representatives - Ariana Correa
Policy Manager
Lt. Governor’s Office - Emily Miller
Senior Advisor for Policy & Legislative Affairs
Office of the Illinois Governor - Fawn Pettet
Client Support Services Manager
Land of Lincoln Legal Aid - Amanda Pyron
Executive Director
The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence - Jenny Schoenwetter, Secretary
Executive Director and CEO
Harbor House - Stacy L. Short
Associate Deputy Director
Child Protection
Illinois Department of Child and Family Services - Vickie Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
Illinois Coalition Against
Domestic Violence - Dr. Jacob Stelter
Attending Emergency Physician
Northshore University Health System - Cassandra Tanner Miller
Survivor, DV Advocate and Founder
Colton’s Legacy - Teresa L. Tudor
Program Administrator
Illinois Department of Human Services - Sen. Sally J. Turner
Caucus Whip, 44th District
Illinois Senate - Jennifer Vancil
Chief Operating Officer
Quincy Area Network Against Domestic Violence - Amanda L. Vasquez
Acting Research Manager
Research & Analysis Unit
Center for Victim Studies
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority - Sen. Celina Villanueva
Senator, 12th District
Illinois Senate - Tom Weitzel
Chief of Police, Retired
Riverside Police Department - Rep. Maurice A. West II
Representative, 67th District
Illinois House of Representatives - Jeanine Woods
Executive Director
Cairo Women’s Shelter, Inc.