ICDVP Community Resources 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A survivor needs long-term mental health counseling beyond what the DV program provides. What is the BEST approach?
- Terminate services once acute crisis is resolved
- Provide a warm referral to a community mental health center with trauma-informed clinicians (Correct answer)
- Advise the survivor to manage symptoms independently
- Refer to a general practitioner who can prescribe medication only
Correct answer: Provide a warm referral to a community mental health center with trauma-informed clinicians
Long-term trauma recovery benefits from ongoing trauma-informed therapy, and a warm referral increases the likelihood the survivor accesses that care.
Question 2: Which national hotline provides 24/7 crisis intervention, safety planning, and resource referral for domestic violence survivors?
- 211 United Way Helpline
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE) (Correct answer)
- FEMA Disaster Assistance Line
- Social Security Administration Helpline
Correct answer: The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE)
The National DV Hotline operates 24/7, offering crisis intervention, lethality assessment, safety planning, and local resource referrals in multiple languages.
Question 3: A survivor is interested in pursuing higher education to improve her economic independence. Which resource should the advocate connect her with?
- Advise her to wait until she is fully financially stable before enrolling
- Campus victim advocacy offices, VAWA Title IX protections, and FAFSA financial aid assistance (Correct answer)
- Private lenders offering high-interest education loans
- Her abuser's employer tuition reimbursement plan
Correct answer: Campus victim advocacy offices, VAWA Title IX protections, and FAFSA financial aid assistance
Campus advocacy offices provide safety planning within academic settings, and FAFSA assistance helps survivors access grants and loans for tuition.
Question 4: Which principle should guide an advocate when a survivor declines a recommended community resource referral?
- Override the survivor's decision and make the referral anyway
- Respect the survivor's self-determination while documenting the options discussed (Correct answer)
- Close the case because the survivor is being non-compliant
- Contact the resource and give the survivor's information without consent
Correct answer: Respect the survivor's self-determination while documenting the options discussed
Survivor-centered advocacy requires honoring the client's autonomy and decision-making while ensuring she has full information about available resources.
Question 5: An advocate discovers that a community partner agency has been breaching survivor confidentiality. What is the CORRECT response?
- Continue referring clients to the agency and hope the issue resolves
- Suspend referrals, document the breach, notify program leadership, and address it through the MOU complaint process (Correct answer)
- Publicly post about the agency's behavior on social media
- Confront individual staff at the partner agency without notifying supervisors
Correct answer: Suspend referrals, document the breach, notify program leadership, and address it through the MOU complaint process
Confidentiality breaches by partners must be addressed formally through supervisory channels and the terms of existing MOUs to protect survivors.
Question 6: A survivor from an LGBTQ+ community is reluctant to use mainstream DV shelter services. Which specialized resource best addresses this concern?
- Mainstream shelter services where LGBTQ+ status is not disclosed to staff
- LGBTQ+-affirming DV programs or shelters with explicit LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and staff training (Correct answer)
- Advising the survivor that mainstream shelters are legally required to accept all clients without any accommodation
- Crisis line services only, since shelter is not appropriate
Correct answer: LGBTQ+-affirming DV programs or shelters with explicit LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and staff training
LGBTQ+-affirming programs create a safer environment by ensuring staff training, inclusive policies, and physical safety considerations unique to LGBTQ+ survivors.
Question 7: Which Illinois law requires domestic violence programs receiving state funding to maintain client confidentiality and restricts disclosure without informed consent?
- Illinois Vehicle Code
- Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) and its confidentiality provisions (Correct answer)
- Illinois Tax Code
- Illinois Environmental Protection Act
Correct answer: Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) and its confidentiality provisions
The Illinois Domestic Violence Act includes specific confidentiality protections that prohibit funded programs from disclosing client information without explicit informed consent.
ICDVP Community Resources 5
A survivor needs long-term mental health counseling beyond what the DV program provides.
What is the BEST approach?