Family Court and Domestic Violence Assistance Act
The FCDV Act will mandate offenders who are in violation of family court orders or Orders for Protection pay a $100.00 fine. The fine will fund a 2-year study conducted by MOMSV to follow cases that are filed by domestic violence victims who also have family court cases in both Cook and Lake county in the State of Illinois.
Under the Act, the $100 fine will cover the following study expenses:
Court watchers -- Court watchers will be assigned to follow FC or DV cases at the Daley Center in Chicago, Illinois and the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, IL. MOMSV will recruit, train, and pay courtwatchers a minimum wage for their services on a part-time basis.
Registration -- Myra Spearman, Executive Director of the Weaker Vessel will register the names of DV offenders on the national domestic violence database and receive a fee of $12 from MOMSV for each name her organization obtains through the study in both Cook and Lake County in the state of Illinois.
The provisions under the Act will mandate the following enforcement mechanisms:
Supervised Visition -- A non-custodial parent convicted of a domestic violence act is required to have supervised visitation with their minor child(ren). Supervised visitation can only be modified if the non-custodial parent proves to the satisfaction of the court that he or she is no longer a threat to his or her child(ren).
Court Expenses -- Court costs that non-custodial or custodial parent(s) incur as a result of: providing for their defense against false allegations brought forth by the petitioner, any efforts to collect on child support, and modificatons for custody or visitation orders that result from an order for protection on behalf of the petitioner. Court costs include, but are not limited to private attorney's fees, court reporters and a copy of the court transcript.
Currently, paragraph 3 Article I of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, "the legal system has ineffectively dealt with family violence in the past, allowing abusers to escape effective prosecution or financial liability, and has not adequately acknowledged the criminal nature of domestic violence; that, although many laws have changed, in practice there is still widespread failure to appropriately protect and assist victims"
This 2-year study will show a reduction in domestic violence offenses and violent crimes committed against domestic violence victims.
