FRANKLIN—The Children’s Center has received a $2.3 million grant to provide the Head Start program to 300 children in Franklin, Suffolk and Isle of Wight and Southampton counties.

The Children’s Center will take over the program from Community Development Institute, which ran it on a temporary basis last year. Currently, there are Head Start centers in Franklin, Courtland, Smithfield and Suffolk.

Head Start serves 3- to 5-year-olds from low-income families with educational, health, nutritional, social and other services. The program involves and assists parents in making progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.

“We are excited and honored to expand our work with families in the Western Tidewater community,” said Rosalind Cutchins, program director for the Children’s Center. “We are grateful to the many partners in this community who care deeply for children, who believe in their tremendous potential, and who are willing to work side by side to provide an enriched environment for all children.”

The Children’s Center is a private, nonprofit organization that has served families living in Western Tidewater since 1983.