Kids first law center will implement the building safer schools: expanding intervention services to support child victims, prevent violence, and hold offenders accountable project

The Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded Kids First Law Center $499,962 on June 1, 2026, under the Children Exposed to Violence program (CFDA 16.818) to implement the Building Safer Schools: Expanding Intervention Services to Support Child Victims, Prevent Violence, and Hold Offenders Accountable project.

Kids First Law Center will deploy on-site facilitators at Cedar Rapids Prep and College Community School Districts to provide evidence-based intervention services targeting children under age 14. Facilitators will conduct peer mediation between students in conflict, deliver one-on-one supportive sessions to children exposed to or engaged in violence, and facilitate proactive community circles. The project will identify students at highest risk of violent crime engagement for intensive support and participate in student support team meetings. Kids First projects annual service to at least 300 students and 600 student-student circles. The Cedar Rapids area experiences firearm-caused homicide rates for children ages 10–20 at 2.92 times the state average; the project targets unserved school districts with the highest need.

The project operates through May 31, 2029, in partnership with the Stand Up for Peace multidisciplinary collaborative planning team, which includes law enforcement, juvenile court, and local nonprofits. Performance takes place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The purpose is to expand evidence-based intervention services to prevent and intervene in youth violence by enhancing supportive services for child victims, increasing accountability for youth offenders, and building critical protective factors in cedar rapids, iowa. The project addresses a critical need where the rate of firearm-caused homicides for children ages 1020 is 2.92 times the state average. The project will expand to serve students in thecedar rapids prep and college community school districts, unserved school districts with the highest need. Kids first will deploy facilitators at both schools to implement intervention services with a focus on children under age 14 to intervene earlier and more successfully. Facilitators stationed on-site will conduct mediationbetween students in conflict, provide one-on-one supportive sessions to children exposed to and engaged in violence, and facilitate proactive community circles. Kids first will also participate in student support team meetings and identify the students most at risk of engagingin violent crime for more intensive support. The project will serve at least 300 students and conduct 600 student-student circles annually. Beneficiaries include students caught in conflict who are at highest risk for school failure, dropout, and involvement in gun violence. The project will be undertaken in partnership with the existing stand up for peace multidisciplinary collaborative planning team, which includes law enforcement, juvenile court, and local nonprofits.