Early Head Start provides center-based and home-based education, health, and social services to pregnant women and families with children up to three years of age in order to prepare enrolled children for future success. Early Head Start supports the belief that the parent is the child’s first teacher.

The Head Start program incorporates a family-staff partnership approach to education through shared governance, volunteering, parent training, home visiting and family goal setting, while providing child development services to promote school readiness to children ages three to five.

Affordable quality daycare for qualifying families is available at Child Development Centers in Abingdon, Clintwood, and Bristol. Supervised, age-appropriate activities designed to promote learning take place in full-day infant-toddler and preschool classrooms, before and after school child care, and full day summer care for school children.

The FDI is the family service-training arm for Children & Family Development and incorporates two major training programs: SMART (Strong Marriages and Relationships Today) and FDC (Family Development Credential). The SMART program offers a series of relationship/marriage building workshops to income-eligible individuals with young children who may not otherwise have access to this type of training. Sponsored by People Incorporated’s Family Development Institute, the FDC trains staff members working in home-visiting or family-service positions. The training leads to a nationally recognized one-year certificate that demonstrates competency and skills in working with families using a strength-based approach.

The Infant-Toddler Specialists help Infant/Toddler Care Providers improve the quality of care for the Commonwealth's youngest children by providing on-site consultation, mentoring and support through collaboration with program directors and teaching/caregiving staff. They also arrange group trainings in topics such as social-emotional growth, health and safety practices, early literacy, inclusion, and child development. ITSN supports 17 western Virginia counties from Christianburg to Gate City.