Parents In Community Action, Inc.

Who we are:  Parents In Community Action, Inc.—better known as “PICA”—is a private non-profit agency founded by concerned parents in 1969 to provide Head Start services in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Since that time, we have grown from serving 200 children and families in a single temporary location to serving a racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population of over 2,600 children and families in 13 state-of-the-art early childhood centers located throughout Hennepin County. We are dedicated to ensuring that low-income children and families have access to the services, opportunities, and support needed to reach their full potential.

Our mission:  It is PICA’s mission to provide comprehensive early childhood and family development services that empower children and families to reach their full potential; support parents and their communities in defining their needs and programs; promote community change that values children and their families; and develop partnerships with parents and the public, private, and corporate sectors to assist in achieving our goal of healthy, happy, productive children and families.

What we do:  For over 50 years, PICA has provided comprehensive early childhood development and family support services for low-income children and families residing in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Our programs include Head Start (for preschoolers), Early Head Start (for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women), Project Secure (for homeless children & families), and High Five (for children whose fifth birthday falls after the September 1 age cutoff for public school kindergarten entry), and we offer a variety of program options to meet families' unique and changing needs.