Teaches community members about their rights in housing and how to exercise them. Also provides training to landlords, property managers, and realtors. Assists in investigating and enforcing fair housing laws when violations are reported. Also advocates for creating more equitable and inclusive communities.

Provides individuals with disabilities with programs that will help them gain independence. Services include: - Life skills classes - Employment preparation - Creative expression - Training/assistance with personal care - Referrals to healthcare, financial, legal, and residential services The Life Skills program is designed to enhance: - Self-advocacy - Communication - Independence Participants are engaged in activities such as: - Cooking - music - Community planning - Physical fitness - And rights, responsibilities and relationships. Employee Development Services (EDS) provides a transitional training program. EDS helps develop - Basic interpersonal skills - Attitudes - Work behaviors EDS prepares individuals for the Employment First Program. Horticulture program helps develop skills in gardening and landscaping: - General horticulture skills - The life cycle of plants care - Maintenance of indoor plants and outdoor gardening. Offers work in a team environment to maintain a garden and engage in social interaction with volunteers. Instructional classes, participants have full involvement in the: - Planning - Planting - Care of two fields in which they grow vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Center For The Arts provides new possibilities for communication and expression. The center cultivates an individual’s unique talent and creates a sense of empowerment and accomplishment. mmunication and expression. The center cultivates an individual’s unique talent and creates a sense of empowerment and accomplishment.

Provides resources and referrals for residents depending on their needs. Services include: - Application Assistance to apply for resources - Career Preparation - Pregnancy Prevention - Teen Mom Advocacy - Teen Conferences - Etiquette Classes - Vision Writing - Toy Christmas Giveaway - Domestic Violence Awareness Also offers the BTA (Bound to Achieve) Program: - assists high school students to figure out their college path. Also takes students on tours to different college campuses.

Provides information to help children & families figure out next steps, when problems arise. Complaints and concerns are handled by an advocate or passed on to a better resource. Toll-Free Help Line during normal business hours to answer questions on: - welfare issues - problems - concerns A Youth Hotline for the youth served by the department to handle: - complaints - concerns - inquiries - suggestions The Advocacy Office Does Not: - investigate actions that do not involve DCFS or its contracted agencies - investigate the acts or decisions of courts, judges or their staff - investigate the Office of the Public Guardian or Attorney General - accept or investigate reports of child abuse or neglect The DCFS Director can grant waivers to policy requirements by caseworker recommendation. For example, requests to expand the capacity of a foster home, to care for children than the policy allows.

Places children who have experienced neglect and/or abuse in a safe home. Other services include: - Counseling services for children, foster parents, and birth parents - Children advocacy in court - 24 hour crisis interventions - Foster home monitoring - Referrals for birth parents to get help for issues that prevent them from being with their children. Also offers “respite” care to help give full-time foster parents a break on weekends or short term for 1-2 weeks at a time.

Provides the following services: - Case coordination. - Advocacy. - Transportation resources. - Financial resources. - Medication assistance. - Special care. - Education outreach. - Seizure response training.

Provides the following services for sexual assault victims and survivors: - Individual, family, and group counseling. - Medical and legal advocacy. - Assistance in obtaining Orders of Protection. - Case management to assist with additional needs, such as food needs, changing locks, and more. - 24 hour sexual assault hotline. - Sexual assault prevention education.

Provides a safe, child focused setting for investigations of child abuse, ensure victims and their families receive quality services, and raise awareness in the community to combat child abuse. The victim advocates provide services to victims and their non-offending family members from the time the case is opened through disposition. They also assess needed service referrals, provide medical and court advocacy, and keep the victim and family members up to date on the status of the case. Some of the services provided by advocates are: -Assistance filing an order of protection. -Setting up a follow up medical exam. -Court accompaniment. -Case updates -Assistance finding counseling.

Created so that eligible children and adults who have a disability could obtain legal advice and representation to protect and enforce their rights guaranteed by Illinois' mental health laws. Attorneys provide needed assistance to persons with disabilities in a variety of settings: - Mental health facilities. - Residential programs. - Community placements. - Nursing homes. Issues addressed include, but are not limited to: admission and discharge from hospitalization, adequate treatment, refusal of unwanted services, and confidentiality of mental health records. Assistance takes the form of information, referral, and legal representation in court hearings and administrative proceedings.

Created so that eligible children and adults who have a disability could obtain legal advice and representation to protect and enforce their rights guaranteed by Illinois' mental health laws. Attorneys provide needed assistance to persons with disabilities in a variety of settings: - Mental health facilities. - Residential programs. - Community placements. - Nursing homes. Issues addressed include, but are not limited to: admission and discharge from hospitalization, adequate treatment, refusal of unwanted services, and confidentiality of mental health records. Assistance takes the form of information, referral, and legal representation in court hearings and administrative proceedings.

A program designed to provide community-based services that will meet the needs of individuals with brain injuries and help prevent unnecessary institutionalization. Services include: - Assistive equipment and devices. - Home remodeling to ensure safe independent functioning. - Independent living skills training. - Personal assistant service referrals. - Personal assistant management training. - Case management, advocacy, and peer support. - Neuropsychological assessments. - Homemaker services. - Home health. - Specialized therapies. - Home delivered meals. - Adult day care. - Day habilitation. - Behavioral counseling services. - Supported employment. - Pre-vocational services.

Domestic violence services include: - 24/7 hotline. - Counseling and advocacy for adults. - Counseling and advocacy for children affected by domestic violence. - Legal advocacy. - 24/7 shelter for survivors of domestic violence. - 24/7 transitional shelter.

Offers services which assist persons with disabilities in achieving and/or maintaining independence. Services include, but are not limited to: - Information and Referral (personal assistant, interpreter, and housing referrals). - Access and Advocacy (accessibility surveys, assistive devices, Braille printing). - Skills Development (personal assistant management training, basic computer skills, public transit use, budgeting). - Counseling (independent living, peer, vocational). - Free Amplified Phones for Illinois residents with verifiable hearing loss who have a land line. - Independent Living Needs Assessment. - Mass Transit District Disability Verification. - Reintegration into the community from nursing home, etc. (This includes possible financial assistance for moving home or into supportive living). - PACE Presentations - PACE will readily provide sign language interpreters to access PACE events on request.

Serves the cultural, psychological, and socio-economic needs of Ethiopians in the Chicago area. Also supports other African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European refugee populations who seek its services. Services include: - Refugee Reception and Placement. - Preferred Communities Program. - Illinois Welcoming Center Program. - Illinois Access to Justice (A2J) Program. - Southern Border Arrivals Program. - IFSP Cash Assistance Program. - Employment Training & Services. - Matching Grant Program. - Electromechanical Assembly Training Program. - English as a Second Language (ESL). - Citizenship and Immigration Services. - Ethiopian Cultural Museum and Education. - Children and Youth Services. - Open Computer Lab.

Provides information and comprehensive services for people with disabilities including: - Peer support - Independent living skills training - Employment skills training - Advocacy - Assistive technology/adaptive devices - Benefits counseling /Application assistance - Personal assistant (in-home care) referrals Also offers ongoing support services and transitional services, including: - Community Transition Services that helps people transition from nursing homes to their own homes - Pre-employment Transition 30 week program to prepare youth for the work force - Youth Transition Services for youth to develop independent living skills to prepare for adulthood Free Covid tests provided

The Domestic Violence unit of Kane County's State's Attorney's office works to prosecute defendants accused of causing physical harm to a person with whom the defendant has a domestic relationship. Domestic violence includes physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and/or economic abuse. Victim coordination and Orders of Protection are also completed in this office. The 16th Judicial Circuit of Kane County can also issue emergency protective orders, including: - Civil Order of Protection. - Criminal Order of Protection. - Stalking No Contact Order. - Civil No Contect Order - Firearms Restraining Order. Domestic relationships include: - A relationship with a family or household member, such as a spouse or former spouse, parents, children, stepchildren, and other persons related by blood or by current or previous marriage. - A person the survivor lives with or lived with in the past. - A person with whom the survivor shares a child. - A person with whom the survivor shares a blood relationship with because of a child. - A person the survivor is dating or dated in the past.

Provides virtual mental health services catered to the needs of the Hispanic community. Services include: - Counseling for individuals, couples, and families - Group Therapy - Mental Health Evaluations - Hypnotherapy - Clinical Supervision - Advocacy and Referral Services Also offer training to assist Latino professionals and organizations to acquire professional skills.

Provides resources and information about Mesothelioma and Asbestos exposure for the general public. Services include: - Patient advocate team - Treatment guide - Doctor match programs - Legal service referrals - Support groups For Veterans Information, please check www.mesotheliomaveterans.org

Services include: - 24-hour crisis line and crisis intervention. - Safe shelter. - Counseling for adults and children. - Support groups for adults and children. - Assistance with orders of protection and other court-related advocacy. - Parenting assistance. - Abuser groups held in an outside location. - Healthy Relationships groups for high school students.

Medical advocacy is available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week at hospital emergency rooms. Whenever a survivor arrives at the hospital for treatment, the hospital calls the hotline and an advocate is sent out to sit with the survivor. The advocate offers emotional support, provides information on sexual violence, and gives any necessary referrals. Legal advocacy is available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week wherever needed. Advocates can support a survivor at the police department or help a survivor with a case that is currently being prosecuted. The staff advocate is very knowledgeable about court proceedings and Illinois law.

Medical advocacy is available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week at hospital emergency rooms. Whenever a survivor arrives at the hospital for treatment, the hospital calls the hotline and an advocate is sent out to sit with the survivor. The advocate offers emotional support, provides information on sexual violence, and gives any necessary referrals. Legal advocacy is available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week wherever needed. Advocates can support a survivor at the police department or help a survivor with a case that is currently being prosecuted. The staff advocate is very knowledgeable about court proceedings and Illinois law.

Provides crisis intervention and case management services to abused children. Works with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), law enforcement, state's attorney's offices, social workers, advocates, medical and mental health professionals and others to provide high-quality, specialized services for children and their families. Provides safe, child-friendly interview room where children receive a forensic interview by a trained professional that is coordinated with DCFS and law enforcement.The child advocates then works with the children and non-offending caregivers to coordinate a specialized medical exam and crisis intervention counseling. Advocates assist the family through the criminal court system and prosecution of the case. Services: - Support to the child and the non-offending family members. - Linkage to counseling and medical services for the child. - Court support services. - Child friendly environment where the child can be interviewed by a specially trained forensic interviewer. - Coordination of Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT), including DCFS, law enforcement, state's attorneys, medical provides, child advocates, and mental health providers. - Facilitation of MDT meetings to staff the cases.

Provides counseling services for students who are survivors of campus sexual assault. This is both for undergraduate and graduate students. Besides counseling, it also provides advocacy and other services.

Neutral, third-party hub whose purpose is coordinating services and safe, child-sensitive support to children and their non-offending family members. The CAC also provides: - Referrals for medical treatment. - Trauma assessments. - Referrals for counseling and caregiver education through the Center for Counseling. - In-person support during court proceedings. - Community prevention and awareness presentations.

Trained volunteers are there to listen and offer support to callers, as well as provide information and referrals. As they move through the medical and legal systems, ZCenter will accompany patients and families. Medical/police advocacy is available at every hospital emergency room and every police department in the county. A trained volunteer advocate can be there to support the survivor and their family or friends. On the survivor's behalf, court advocates will attend legal proceedings of sexual assault cases and provide emotional and educational support.