SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Starting next month, the Snohomish County Early Head Start Program will be looking for applicants.

The program, which provides child development and family support services to families in Sultan, Granite Falls, Arlington and Marysville, will be filling 82 openings.

The county program is only one of three in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska to be awarded an Early Head Start grant by the national Office of Head Start.

The Snohomish County program will receive $2.45 million in federal stimulus funding during the next two years.

“The inclusion of Early Head Start in our county services provides an opportunity to bring public health, early intervention, housing assistance and a comprehensive early childhood education program to eligible families,” Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said in a release. “This furthers our commitment to the children of Snohomish County, who will become tomorrow’s workforce and leaders.”

Services offered through the county program include weekly home visits with play-and-learn socialization, developmental screenings and assessments, health nutrition and mental health referrals, family goal planning and parent education and leadership opportunities.

Early Head Start primarily provides services for low-income families and is designed to promote development of the children while helping parents move toward self-sufficiency, according to the release.

For more information about the program or to learn how to apply, call Program Director Jo Varano at 425-388-7251 or e-mail joe.varano@snoco.org .