Mazique Parent Child Center

When Mazique was founded, it was the first and only Parent Child Center in the District of Columbia that provided home-based services to pregnant women and children from birth to age three. Mazique was the first infant center in DC and among the first to serve children with special needs. We continue to be the pioneer Head Start program in the coun... try with a medical clinic as a result of a 20-year partnership with Howard University Hospital Pediatric Residency Program. Mazique is a child development center that assists parents in developing skills, obtaining knowledge and becoming responsible advocates in ways that empower them to successfully promote their childrens growth and development, while simultaneously receiving valuable tools that promote and lead families to complete self-sufficiency. Mrs. Ruth Rucker, who was a recent college graduate and mother of three children, had a dream. She wanted to go to work and be successful so that her children would have a better chance in life. While this was a great dream that she wanted to make a reality, it was very difficult at the time to accomplish due to the lack of adequate early learning services in the District. Instead of giving up on her dream, she began to broaden her thinking and considered that she might not be alone in this dilemma. Mrs. Rucker thought about the fact that if she as an educated young mother, did not have adequate child care to support her employment availability, how much greater the plight might be for other parents in her community who did not have the educational background, or support needed to start a career. In late Summer 1968, Mrs. Ruckers relocation was selected by UPO (United Planning Organization) to establish DCs first Parent Child Center (PCC) with a start up grant from the National Office of Economic Opportunity which earlier launched the Head Start Program under President Lyndon Baines Johnson. To this end, Mrs. Rucker informally did what we would call today, a Community Needs Assessment, and discovered there were many ...Read More