The University of Illinois and the College of Law, together with College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), recently received a $249,932 grant on domestic violence from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant is a two-phase study that will examine decisions made in family courts regarding custody and visitation when intimate partner violence (IPV) has been documented.

“As a public, land grant University, Illinois has a responsibility to work for the public good,” says Vikram Amar, Dean of the College of Law. “We’re proud to partner with other units on campus and have the support from the NSF to further this worthy cause.”

Phase one of the study will examine publicly-available administrative records for 620 divorce cases to determine how the documentation of IPV is associated with custody and visitation agreements and the safety of those agreements. The second phase will then incorporate previously collected self-report data for a subset of divorcing mothers, assessing variables that have been shown to influence custody and visitation agreements or the divorce process but are likely not documented in court records, like mothers’ perceptions and attitudes.

“We are exploring two of the hardest and, frankly, most troubling issues in family law: domestic violence and child custody,” explains Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson, a principal investigator on the grant. “We hope to unpack what happens in these difficult cases where domestic violence is suspected or even shown to have occurred, and what steps courts actually take to protect children from the fall-out.”

“This project brings together scholars from social science and law; affords research opportunities for postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students; taps rich, but underused, sources of data; and will generate important insights into important social and policy questions,” says Jennifer Robbennolt, Associate Dean for Faculty Research. “The study will provide a valuable base of knowledge for policy makers, courts, and anyone who is concerned about the effects of intimate partner violence on families.”

The grant is the result in part of efforts from Illinois Law 2016 graduates—Emily Dory, Alexandra Olkowski, and Stephanie Sotomayor, who did the early legal research that contributed to the grant application under Wilson’s supervision.

For Emily Dory, “The opportunity to engage in public interest issues is important for every law student and professional, as these issues affect our community. With this grant, we will be able to help those in our community - our friends, neighbors and coworkers."