History

LexLinc was founded in 1998 as a partnership among local citizens, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Department of Social Services of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. LexLinc is modeled after an organization in Kansas City, Missouri, called KCLinc – or the Kansas City Local Investment Commission.   Neighborhood and government partners are integrated into LexLinc’s organizational structure. With roots in the welfare reform movement, LexLinc found that its expanding network of partnerships could be used to address additional community issues impacting neighborhoods and families. 

• A weaving of formal and informal partnerships
• A change in the nature of power relationships in a community
• A mechanism to transfer state decision-making to local citizens
• A focus on family, community and underserved neighborhoods
• A way to support community-wide initiatives through a system rather than program by program