Orders of Protection

Orders of protection

An Order of Protection can help stop a person from abusing, neglecting or exploiting another person.

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Orders of protection for people with disabilities

People with disabilities and older adults have a right to be protected from abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. If you have a disability and you are being abused by someone who is related to you, lives with you, or gives you care, you may have a right to an Order of Protection. If you are worried about a person with disabilities who is being harmed, you may also seek an Order of Protection for them.

An Order of Protection can help stop a person from abusing, neglecting or exploiting another person.

There are two types of Orders of Protection: “civil” and “criminal.” You may ask a judge for a civil Order of Protection at any time at a courthouse in your area. If the person harming you was arrested or you want criminal charges to be brought against that person, you may also tell the police about the crime and ask your local state’s attorney for a criminal Order of Protection. The state’s attorney will tell you if they will do that. This fact sheet will focus on how you can get a civil Order of Protection.

To get an Order of Protection the court must find that the person was abused by a family or household member. An adult with a disability can ask a judge for an Order of Protection if they have been abused by a family or household member.

If the adult with a disability cannot ask the judge or it is hard for them to ask the judge because of their age, health or disability, or they have no way to get to court, another person can file the petition for them. A person with a disability can object, or say no, to someone else trying to get an Order of Protection for them. If they say no, the judge will not give an Order unless the person with a disability has a legal guardian, and the guardian asks for the Order of Protection.

The law says abuse can be a lot of things, including:

  • Physical abuse – Can be sexual abuse; not letting you leave; hitting, kicking, biting or pinching; not letting a person sleep; putting a person in risky places.
  • Harassment – Can be making problems at a person’s work or school, threatening to hurt a person, or repeatedly calling, following, or watching a person.
  • Intimidation of a dependent – Can be when the victim needs someone else’s help because of their age or disability, and the bad person makes the victim watch or help them harm someone else.
  • Willful deprivation – Can be putting someone at risk by keeping them from getting their medicine, medical care, housing, services, food, assistive devices or other help.
  • Interference with personal liberty – Can be doing or threatening to do anything listed above to force a person to do something that he or she has a right not to do. It can also be used to force a person not to do something he or she has a right to do.
  • Neglect – Can be when a person who is supposed to care for someone with disabilities but does not stop abuse or dangerous situations, or does not give them food, housing, clothes, personal hygiene, or medical services.
  • Exploitation – Can be when someone takes money or things from a person with a disability or tricks that person into giving up their money or things.

The law says a family or household member of the victim can be:

  • Children, stepchildren, parents and others related by blood.
  • Spouses, former spouses, and their family members.
  • Current or former fiancé, boyfriend or girlfriend.
  • Someone they have a child with.
  • People who they live with or used to live with.
  • The personal assistants or caregivers of a person with disabilities. A caregiver is anyone who is supposed to help someone with all or part of their care.

**A family or household member is NOT a stranger who has treated you badly, a neighbor, or other people who do not fit in one of the above categories.

An Order of Protection forces the abuser to do or not do certain things. Here are some of the things you can ask the judge to put in the Order:

  • No more abuse, neglect or exploitation.
  • Stop the abuser from going to the victim’s home. This can be all the time or only when the abuser is using drugs or alcohol.
  • Make the abuser stay away from the victim, their work, and their school.
  • Make the abuser go to counseling.
  • If the abuser and victim have a child, the order can deal with things like custody, visits, care, and access to records.
  • Make the abuser give the victim or their child money to help them live, or pay for costs the victim has due to the abuse, neglect, or exploitation like medical bills or lost wages.
  • Order the abuser to give their guns to the police.

You will need to fill out a form called “Petition for Order of Protection” and file it with the civil court in your area to start the process. The courthouse in your area will have forms for you to complete. The forms are long, and it is very important that you fill them out right. Your courthouse may have a help desk or someone there who can help you fill out the forms. Ask questions if you do not understand something in the forms. The court’s clerk should help you with this. Please contact the places at the end of this fact sheet if you need more help finding or filling out the forms.

Some helpful tips for filling out the forms:

  • Before you go to the courthouse, write down the names and addresses of the places you want the order to stop the person from going to like your work or school.
  • Look for and write down information about the abuser, like their home address, work address, birthdate, and Social Security number if you know it.
  • Write out exactly how the abuser harmed the victim, including dates, what happened, and any harm the victim experienced to their body, mental health, money, or property.
  • You must check the correct boxes next to each thing you want the judge to order. If you do not check the box, the abuser will not have to follow that requirement.
  • Bring a friend or someone you trust with you to help read and complete the forms.

Filing the Order of Protection forms is free. You can have an attorney help you with the forms and come with you to court. Or you can fill out the forms and go to court without an attorney.

Before giving you an Order of Protection, the judge will probably ask you to give a written notice to the abuser. This is called “service.” If you think that telling the abuser about the Order of Protection might make them do more harm, you can ask the judge to enter an “Emergency Order of Protection.” Emergency orders do not need you to tell the abuser about the Order of Protection before getting it.

You fill out the same forms to get an Emergency Order of Protection as a regular Order of Protection. If you want the judge to make it an emergency order, you just fill out that part on the form. Make sure you tell the court’s clerk that you are asking for an emergency order.

Emergency Orders of Protection only last between 14 and 21 days. The judge can add extra time to emergency orders in some cases. To get longer protection, you should also ask for a “Plenary Order of Protection.” These can last for up to two years. Before the judge will give you a plenary order, the abuser must be told about it using a paper called a “summons.” The court will send the summons to the police, and a police officer will give the summons to the abuser.

If you are asking for an Emergency Order of Protection, the judge will hold a hearing as soon as possible. Often it is on the same day you file the forms. The judge will ask you to talk about why you are asking for the Order of Protection. The judge may also ask you other questions to get more information. If the judge gives you the emergency order, you will need to go to court again before the emergency order ends.

If the abuser is doing something that is not allowed in the Order of Protection, it is a crime. You should call the police.

If the person has not followed one or more parts of the Order of Protection, you can go back to court and ask the judge to say that person is “in contempt of court.” This means the judge can punish the person by making the person pay a fine, spend time in prison, pay your attorneys’ fees, do community service, or other things as punishment.

NOTE: Only the judge can cancel or change an Order of Protection. If the abuser does not follow the Order of Protection, even if you tell the abuser it is okay, the court can still punish the abuser.

For more information:

State of Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline:

1-877-863-6338 or 1-877-863-6339 (TTY)

Adult Protective Services (Department on Aging):

1-866-800-1409 or 1-888-206-1327 (TTY)

Equip for Equality:

1-800-537-2632 or 1-800-610-2779 (TTY)

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