Morrison met with local leaders as proposed federal rule threatens services for children and families
BROOKLYN PARK, MN – U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison (MN-03) visited Parents in Community Action (PICA) Head Start in Brooklyn Park this week to meet with local Head Start leaders, tour the facility, and hear directly from staff about the critical services they provide to children and families in the community.
Rep. Morrison met with leaders from PICA and the Minnesota Head Start Association to discuss the state of Head Start in Minnesota and the potential impact of a recently proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would significantly overhaul the program’s federal standards. The visit marked Rep. Morrison’s second visit to PICA Head Start in Brooklyn Park.
PICA operates 11 Head Start centers across Hennepin County, including two in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. In addition to early childhood education, PICA provides comprehensive services to the children and families it serves, including dual-language classrooms, services for children with disabilities, and transportation to medical and dental care.
“Head Start does so much more than provide early childhood education. It helps make sure children are healthy, cared for, and thriving while giving parents the reliable child care they need to work and support their families,” said Congresswoman Kelly Morrison. “As an OB-GYN and a mom of three, I know how important these early years are for a child’s health and development. I’m grateful to the incredible staff at PICA for sharing directly with me what they are seeing and what they need from leaders in Washington. I will continue working to protect Head Start and make sure Minnesota children and families have the support they need to thrive.”
For more than 60 years, Head Start has provided early childhood education, health, nutrition, and other services to children and families across the country.
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In Minnesota alone, more than 12,000 children and their families rely on Head Start.
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Head Start provided approximately 8 million hours of child care to Minnesotans in 2024.
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More than 75 percent of Minnesota Head Start parents are in the workforce and rely on child care for their employment.
The visit comes as the Trump Administration is considering a proposed rule that would remove or weaken more than 90 percent of Head Start’s federal performance standards. The proposed changes would affect standards governing early learning, health and mental health services, classroom safety and staffing, services for children with disabilities, and other supports that have long been central to the Head Start model. The proposal would also eliminate existing federal staff-to-child ratio and group-size requirements and reduce required program hours and days.
Rep. Morrison has repeatedly advocated for protecting Head Start and the families it serves. Last month, she joined her colleagues in urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to withdraw the proposed rule that would gut the program. This week, Rep. Morrison also joined 190 Members of Congress in calling on HHS to withdraw the proposal and preserve Head Start’s longstanding quality standards and comprehensive services for children and families.
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