CHAPEL HILL — UNC-Chapel Hill will receive a $3.69 million federal grant to create a center to help improve services for the nation’s children with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday.

UNC’s new Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center will help states with their early childhood and preschool services for young children with disabilities. The center will work with states to determine how best to provide research-based methods of working with children.

“This center will serve as a national resource for information and intervention on helping America’s infants, toddlers and preschool children with disabilities,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement. “It will improve the infrastructure of state services for these children, as well as helping upgrade local systems and practices.”