Bill Hancock

Bill R. Hancock says that he didn’t find foster care. Foster care found him. When he was a young teen, his stepfather asked him to leave their home. He dropped out of high school and found his way to a workhouse. Several years later, he heard a televangelist preaching on TV. The next Sunday, he went to church where God became the father he never had and the church became his family. This experience, coupled with the support of several key individuals, afforded him a new start and he was able to go to college, then graduate school, where he got a job working in an emergency children’s shelter—and he’s been serving foster children ever since.

Bill’s passion and vision is to change the way America does foster care—with the local church as the solution. With more than 30 years of child welfare and church leadership experience, Bill possesses a unique understanding of foster care, public policy, church culture, and social entrepreneurship. His career crosses disciplines with prior leadership roles in both churches and foster care agencies—and this diverse experience led him to co-found FaithBridge Foster Care, a child placing agency that partners with local churches and communities to address their local foster care crisis through the FaithBridge Community of CareSM.

The FaithBridge Community of Care is research-based, integrated delivery system that creates local foster family capacity with built-in stability and quality through unparalleled volunteer support, Christian caseworkers and competency-based curricula and certification. FaithBridge not only works to create localized foster care ministries in partnership with churches, but also has a national scope and reach through partnerships, research and consulting projects with national denominations, foster care providers and others FaithBridge completed the first-ever national survey of a single denomination’s involvement and potential impact in foster care and is now working on a national rollout of its FaithBridge Community of Care model in multiple states. The organization is involved in system transformation and thought leadership activities with organizations ranging from the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Child Welfare League of America and more.

Prior to founding FaithBridge, Bill served in leadership roles in several residential group homes, emergency shelters, and served as a consultant to the child welfare industry. He also has pastored local churches while maintaining an active foster care advocacy and consultancy role. Hancock has been the recipient of numerous recognitions and awards, including a gubernatorial appointment to Georgia’s Policy Council for Children and Families, the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children’s Gail Bayes Visionary Leadership for Children and Families Award and an Angel in Adoption Award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. In addition, Bill is a Board Member for Georgia Life Alliance and a member of the CWLA National Faith-Based Advisory Committee. He and his wife have three biological children and three foster children.

Additional Resources

Foster Talk with Dr. John (Audio/Video)

On Dottie Coffman Show (Audio/Video)

Making Forever Families (Article)

News, January 2014 (Article)

News, February 2014 (Article)

News, March 2014 (Article)

News, April 2014 (Article)

Speaker Location

Atlanta, GA

Travel Notes

Willing to travel.

Speaking Themes

1.Trends and Forces Shaping the Orphan Care Movement: How the orphan movement in the U.S. is changing and shaping the outreach to vulnerable families and the renewal of communities. 2. From Principles to Practice to Policy: How they are connected. 3. Public/Private Partnerships: The role of government in communities caring for vulnerable families. 4. Changing the Way America Does Foster Care: The FaithBridge Community of Care Ministry Model