In 2020, Jackson Healthcare was awarded a no-bid agreement with the state of Georgia under Governor Brian Kemp to provide extra health care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was paid more than $694 million from 2020 to 2022. At the time, Rick Jackson and his family were well-established Republican donors, and had contributed $6,600 to Kemp’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
In 2013, Jackson advocated for legislation to privatize child welfare services, which stood to benefit FaithBridge, the foster care program Jackson was the chairman of, while fundraising for Governor Nathan Deal and Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle. Jackson hosted fundraisers for and donated more than $50,000 each to both Deal and Cagle. Jackson later had a meeting with Deal in the same month as his fundraiser to discuss his proposal, and testified before Cagle’s Senate working group on foster care on the same day as his fundraiser.
2020-2022: The State Of Georgia Paid Jackson Healthcare More Than $694 Million After Signing A Contract For Jackson To Provide Extra Hospital Staff To Overwhelmed Hospitals During The COVID-19 Pandemic, But Jackson Would Not “Say How Much Of That Money Was Paid To Nurses And How Much Kept By The Agency.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “In April 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Georgia contracted with Alpharetta-based Jackson Healthcare to help overwhelmed hospitals get the nurses they needed. Jackson agreed to provide extra hospital staff that the state would pay for. Because of the public health state of emergency, state officials signed the contract without taking bids from other staffing agencies. The state has now paid more than $694 million to Jackson. The state doesn't know and Jackson won't say how much of that money was paid to nurses and how much kept by the agency.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/14/22]
2018: Rick Jackson And His Family Were Major Donors To “Republicans Over The Years,” And Donated $6,600 To Brian Kemp’s Gubernatorial Campaign. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The agreement raised some eyebrows at the Capitol because Rick Jackson, the company's CEO, and his family have been major campaign contributors to Republicans over the years and have been active in state politics. However, Jackson backed the losing Republican runoff candidate-- Lt.Gov. Casey Cagle -- in the 2018 race for governor. The family contributed $51,000 to Cagle's campaign before giving $6,600 to Brian Kemp after he won the GOP runoff. Kemp won election as governor that fall.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/1/20]
October 2013: Rick Jackson Hosted Fundraisers For Governor Nathan Deal And Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, And Jackson And His Family Donated More Than $50,000 Each To Deal And Cagle, Prior To Jackson Advocating For Legislation To Privatize Foster Care And Send Medical Malpractice Claims To An Administrative Panel. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “On Oct. 2, Jackson held a fundraiser for Gov. Nathan Deal at his 47,000-square-foot mansion in Cumming, which includes 20 bathrooms, an 18-hole golf course in the yard and a movie theater modeled on the Fabulous Fox on Peachtree. Jackson and his family contributed $54,080 to Deal, state records show. That same month, his family contributed $51,400 to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and then helped host a fundraiser for Cagle in November at the Alpharetta offices of Jackson Healthcare. […] Jackson is attacking two big things, and he would bring radical change to both: First, he seeks to privatize most of the state's child welfare/foster care system, and second, he would take medical malpractice claims away from the courts and send them to an administrative panel.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/14]
October 2013: Rick Jackson Had A Meeting With Deal To Pitch His Foster Care Plan The Same Month As The Fundraiser He Hosted, But Jackson Claimed “It Just So Happened That It Was After A Fundraiser.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “A phone call with Jackson appears on Deal’s calendar on Jan. 22. In October, the same month as the Deal fundraiser, Jackson met with the governor to pitch his plan for transforming Georgia’s foster care system. ‘That wouldn’t have mattered to Governor Deal,’ Jackson said of the fundraiser. ‘The meeting was set up 30, 60 days in advance. It just so happened that it was after a fundraiser.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/14]
November 2013: Rick Jackson Testified Before Cagle’s Senate Working Group On Foster Care The Same Day As The Fundraiser Jackson Helped Host For Cagle. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The same day of the Cagle fundraiser, Nov. 12, Jackson testified before Cagle’s new special Senate working group exploring an overhaul of the state’s foster care system — prompted in large part by Jackson.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/14]
Rick Jackson Pushed To Privatize Child Welfare Services Similar To Legislation In Florida, But Child Advocates Worried Not Enough Studies Had Been Done On How Privatization Would Affect The 7,700 Children In Foster Care In Georgia. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Jackson has yet to employ such tactics in the foster care campaign. Even so, his proposal would mark the biggest change to the state's child welfare system in decades. The bill, which would contract out functions such as adoption, foster care, family reunification and case management, has provoked concern and skepticism among many within the system. It's based on a plan that took root a decade ago in Florida, and child advocates worry Jackson is using his money and influence to propel the state on a headlong path of change without enough study on how it would affect the 7,700 children in foster care. Michelle Long, who has worked in the foster care systems in Florida and now in Georgia, said Florida created another level of bureaucracy without necessarily improving the lives of children.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/14]
Rick Jackson Advocated For Christian Foster Care Programs But Claimed “It Just So Happens That Faith-Based Is A Target-Rich Environment For Quality People To Take Care Of Kids,” And He Was “Not Trying To Proselytize.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Jackson's views are driven, in part, by his background in the church and his experience as the chief benefactor of FaithBridge Foster Care, a Christian child placement agency that operates out of his Alpharetta corporate offices. ‘If you love kids and take care of them and never mention trying to teach them religion, then they are still going to get some,’ said Jackson. ‘To me, I'm not trying to proselytize. It just so happens that faith-based is a target-rich environment for quality people to take care of kids.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/14]
Rick Jackson Was The Chairman Of FaithBridge Foster Care, A Faith-Based Nonprofit That Recruited Foster Family Volunteers From Local Churches. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “In 2008, Jackson met Bill Hancock, whose own troubled childhood inspired his career serving foster children. Hancock had started a small nonprofit working with area churches to recruit volunteers to become foster families, and he wanted to expand the operation. To do that he needed resources. He met with Jackson in hopes of gleaning the business sense he needed to expand his reach. […] A few days later the two men met again. Jackson didn’t want to just be an investor. He wanted to be a partner. ‘I want to see this work,’ Jackson said. ‘Kids deserve better.’ Now called FaithBridge Foster Care, the organization operates in 20 counties and has served nearly 1,000 children. The organization trains volunteers who want to become foster parents and offers support and resources such as clothing, toys, mentoring and transportation. It also assists prospective adoptive parents navigate the blizzard of paperwork. More than 125 children have been placed in permanent adoptive homes. Jackson is chairman of the board.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/22/15]