Early Childhood and Education



WIC (Women, Infants and Children)​

The mission of the West Virginia WIC program is to improve the health of women, infants, and children in West Virginia by providing quality nutrition and breastfeeding counseling and education, as well as health monitoring and nutritious foods. For more information, visit the WIC website. ​


Infant Safe Sleep

To find information and tips on ways to keep babies safe while sleeping please visit https://teamwv.org/our-babies-safe-sound/about-our-babies-safe-sound/​​.


Shaken Baby Syndrome​

To find information about Shaken Baby Syndrome please visit The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.​


Help Me Grow

Help Me Grow is a FREE referral service that connects families with critical developmental resources for their children birth through five years.  The goal of Help Me Grow is to successfully identify children at risk and link them to the help they need. For more information, visit the Help Me Grow West Virginia website


WV Birth to Three

​WV Birth to Three partners with families and caregivers to build upon their strengths by offering coordination, supports, and resources to enhance children's learning and development. For more information, visit the WV Birth to Three website​.


WV Head Start and Early Head Start Programs

​West Virginia Head Start provides children with essential educational resources, including school readiness, so that every child is awarded an opportunity to learn.   WVHS programs help parents grow as individuals, professionally and within their families, through training and leadership opportunities.  Head Start offers these services with the ultimate goal of providing the opportunity for success to each participating family.​ For more information, visit the WVHS Association website​


WVU Extension

The WVU Extension Services is West Virginia's local connection to timely, researched based knowledge. For more information, visit the WVU Extension website.


TEAM for West Virginia Children

TEAM for West Virginia Children is a non-profit organization whose mission is to work with communities and families to promote and advance the well-being of children, making their needs and healthy development a priority. For more information, visit the TEAM for West Virginia Children website


West Virginia Children's Trust Fund

The West Virginia Children's Trust Fund (CTF) raises money for innovative programs in communities all over the state.  Please visit the CTF website to learn more about making donations.  ​


WV Statewide Afterschool Network

The WVSAN works to sustain a statewide partnership to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility of high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs for all school age children, share criteria of effective programs and best practices among providers and the public and promote the sustainability of such programs throughout the state. For more information, visit the WV Statewide Afterschool Network website​.


Child Support Enforcement

The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement establishes paternity (a legal determination of the father of the child) and support and enforces support from a child's parent.  The Bureau also enforces court orders for spousal support or alimony. For more information, visit the BCSE website​.


WV Special Education

The office of Special Education and Student Support is responsible for improving results for children and youth with exceptionalities, primarily through leadership and financial support to local education agencies and for the administration of the federal individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004.  For more information, visit the WV Special Education website​


West Virginia Pre-K Standards Resource Booklet​

Click here to download a copy of the West Virginia Pre-K Standards Resource Booklet. 


Early Care Share West Virginia

Early Care Share WV is a free resource designed to share information, cost savings, and management resources to help early childhood programs, professionals and students access up-to-date state-specific and national information. The site provides access to forms, handbooks, policies, cost savings, classroom material templates and more. Membership is entirely free. Visit www.earlycaresharewv.org​ to request a log-in account.



West Virginia Infant/Toddler Specialists Network

The Infant/Toddler Specialist Network provides technical ​assistance and professional development opportunities to caregivers of infants and toddlers. The twelve specialists across the state assist caregivers in providing West Virginia’s youngest children supportive, nurturing environments. Their mission is to help these caregivers foster responsive relationships with both children and their families, which will support children in achieving optimal developmental outcomes. For more information, visit www.wvit.org.



WV Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Designation

The WV Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Designation (BFCCD) Initiative is a voluntary program to support families in their choice of infant feeding plans. If you would like more information, please contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency’s Infant/Toddler Specialist, or visit the Infant/Toddler Specialist Network website at www.wvit.org and click on the BFCCD tab.


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WV Early Childhood Training Connections and Resources

WV Early Childhood Training Connections and Resources (WVECTCR) is a statewide program designed to provide professional development opportunities for the early care and education community. Through an extensive network of information, training and technical assistance, resources, and collaboration, WVECTCR strives to improve the quality of early education services for young children and their families. For more information, visit www.wvearlychildhood.org​.



Resource and Referral Professional Development Teams

Six Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies across West Virginia employ a professional development team to provide training and technical assistance to early childhood programs. See the Resource and Referral Agency Area Map to contact your local CCR&R agency.



Child Care Tiered Reimbursement

The Child Care Tiered Reimbursement System​ is a quality initiative that offers higher subsidy payments to child care programs that demonstrate they meet higher standards of care. Programs that are licensed as a center or facility and registered family child care homes are eligible to apply for a higher quality tier level. West Virginia currently has three quality tier levels: Tier I reimbursement rates for licensed or registered programs, Tier II rates for programs that meet a state-specific set of quality standards, and Tier III reimbursement rates for programs that are accredited by an approved accrediting agency. For more information, contact Elizabeth Teel at Elizabeth.D.Teel@wv.gov.



WV Pre-K

West Virginia passed legislation in 2002 requiring the state to expand access to preschool education programs in order to make prekindergarten available to all 4-year-olds in the state by the 2012-2013 school year. West Virginia's preschool program, called West Virginia Universal Pre-K, is available in all 55 counties. West Virginia requires that a minimum of half of the programs operate in collaborative settings with private prekindergarten, child care centers, or Head Start programs in order to facilitate expansion of the program. For more information, visit the WVDE Office of Early Learning website.​​


Autism Resources

The West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities (WVUCED) ​​provides links on their website to state and national Autism resources. For more information visit the WVUCED website​.