Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts

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The Winnebago County Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts (DVCC) were established in 2012 following a grant award from the Department of Justice/Office on Violence Against Women. The primary focus of the DVCC is to enhance survivor safety and increase offender accountability in intimate partner domestic violence cases.

Winnebago County Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts (DVCC)

The DVCC is comprised of a dedicated domestic violence criminal court and a dedicated domestic violence civil court, which hear all levels and types of intimate-partner related criminal and civil cases. Specialized procedures have been implemented to ensure these matters are assigned to the appropriate courtrooms, which promotes offender accountability, survivor safety, and informed judicial decision-making in an effort to reduce conflicting orders affecting the same litigants and/or family. The continuation of grant funds has allowed for the increase of victim advocacy in the court setting, streamlined offender accountability and compliance monitoring practices, and has provided intensive and on-going training in the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and human trafficking to judicial and court staff and service providers. To date, Winnebago County and the 17th Judicial Circuit Courts have been awarded over 1 million dollars in grant awards to sustain the efforts of the DVCC.

In 2014, The Winnebago County DVCC was designated by the Office on Violence Against Women to serve as one of six national mentor courts at the time of the award. As a mentor court, Winnebago County provides guidance to other jurisdictions looking to establish or enhance a domestic violence court and participates in attending and hosting site visits with other domestic violence courts. The DVCC’s work as a mentor court continues with the receipt of a 2017 Mentor Court Technical Assistance award.

For questions regarding the Winnebago County Domestic Violence Coordinated Courts, please contact Nicole Ticknor, Project Manager, at 815-516-2474 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Emergency Order of Protection, Stalking No Contact and Civil No Contact Order Online

PODCAST - Learning with Laura Youngblut - Domestic Violence in Winnebago County

Resource Links: 

Remedies 24 hour Domestic Violence Services:  http://www.remediesrenewinglives.org/

Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling, 24 hour crisis services:  http://www.rockfordsexualassaultcounseling.org/

National Domestic Violence Hotline: http://www.thehotline.org/ 

Mayor’s Office on Domestic & Community Violence Prevention: https://rockfordil.gov/mayors-office/mayors-office-on-domestic-violence-and-human-trafficking-prevention/

Rockford Family Justice Center: https://rockfordfamilypeacecenter.org/

ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF
THE 17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT

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400 W State St
Rockford, IL 61101

EARLY CLOSURE OF CERTAIN COURT FACILITIES

Due to water main break in downtown Rockford, the 17th Judicial Circuit Court announces the following:

The Winnebago County Courthouse, Winnebago County Juvenile Justice Center, Adult Probation Department, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Center will be CLOSED at 1:30 pm on Thursday, April 18. All court appearances, including Zoom virtual appearances, located in these facilities are cancelled and will be rescheduled. For questions related to the rescheduling of court matters, please contact the Circuit Clerk's office at 815-319-4500.

The Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center and Boone County Courts REMAIN OPEN and all matters scheduled in these facilities will continue to be heard this afternoon. 

Per Administrative Order 2019-2, all orders of protection due to expire on the date of closure will instead expire the following day, or next court business day in the event of a multi-day closure. As applicable, a petitioner wishing  to pursue their order of protection, must come to the Circuit Clerk’s Office or contact the Clerk’s Office by phone the next day the courthouse is open and request to see a judge to have their order of protection extended. 

All Court Facilities are expected to be open tomorrow, April 19, 2024.