Jackson County Family Connection is a collaborative organization that links businesses, agencies, and citizens together for the betterment of children and families in Jackson County.
What is Family Connection?
Family Connection is the largest statewide network of communities in the United States. Each of the 159 counties in the state of Georgia are a part of the network and have made a commitment to improve results for families and children.
Jackson County Family Connection is a community based partnership of public and private leaders, agencies and organizations, businesses, local government, the faith community, families, and youth. The partnership provides as opportunity for organizations to work together to improve the lives of citizens in Jackson County through collaboration.
Jackson County Family Connection is not a service provider; rather, it is a formal process of collaboration, promoting results-focused planning and local decision making.
The collaborative has created a strategic annual operating plan to guide its efforts to improve conditions for Jackson County families. Embedded in this plan are goals to ensure that all children are healthy, start school ready to learn, succeed in school, and have strong, self sufficient families. The work of the collaborative is based on a framework of accountability which calls for reforms to be made in the way that we support families, the way decisions are made, and the way that we address financing and budgeting.
Jackson County Family Connection is a private 501(c)3 organization run by a volunteer board of directors that employ an Executive Director.
Purpose
Our purpose is to facilitate collaboration among community members (families, public and private human service agencies, businesses, faith community, schools, civic organizations, and government) by assessing community resources and needs. Developing plans to build on strengths and addressing needs, working together to implement their plans and assessing the effectiveness of that work.
Goals
All children and adults will succeed in education and all families of Jackson County will maintain or increase self sufficiency.
Motivation
The partners of the collaborative believe that problems in our society do not exist in isolation. Thus, these problems cannot be solved by agencies and organizations working in isolation. We believe that collaboration strengthens each partner’s work, whether that work occurs within an organization, a neighborhood, or an individual family. We believe that decisions about a community’s future must be made by that community. We believe that families must be supported in a way that is respectful, accessible, and focused on that family’s strengths. We believe that an environment of shared resources and shared accountability is necessary to improving results. We believe in a better future for our community.
Our Staff
Executive Director
Linda C. Foster
Meet Linda Foster:
Linda comes to Family Connection with 9 years experience with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. She began with Family Connection in June, 2013 and brings a passion for helping families be self sustaining and to build the collaboration into a powerhouse for the betterment of Jackson County.
She has a BS Ed from the University of Georgia and has served on many different boards and civic groups in Jackson County. She is currently serving on the board of directors of Legacy Youth Mentoring, Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, ACTION, Inc Board of Directors, and the CLCP (Certified Literate Community Programs). She is also the Past Chair of Region 5 Family Connection Partnership. and is a past appointed member of the Region 2 DBHDD Board. Linda is active in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force, (SST) Student Support Team, (LIPT) Local Inter-agency Planning Team & (CHINS) Child in Need of Services, and Attendance Review Board.
She has also served on The Board of Directors for the Jackson County Boys & Girls Club and the North Georgia Community Foundation Board of Directors, The Jackson County Arts Council, and the Advisory Board for Wellspring Camp.
Linda was the 2015 winner of the Jackson County Community Outreach Community Leadership Award and was the 2016 Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. Linda was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce in January 2023.
She lives in Maysville with her husband Cary and their many dogs. She and Cary have two grown children, Chris and Taylor, three grand sons, and a granddaughter.
