Support for Children and Families: The Foster Care System

Biographical statement is provided by the panelist and edited for length/proofreading

Hon. Valeri Love was appointed to the Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene, Oregon in 2011. Born and raised in Hawaii, she moved to Oregon to attend Linfield College and later Atkinson Graduate School of Management and College of Law at Willamette University. Before her appointment to the bench, she practiced law in both the criminal and civil arenas. As a judge, she has handled civil and criminal cases and cases in the Lane County Adult Treatment Court, Veterans Court, and Mental Health Court. Judge Love currently serves as the Chief Juvenile Judge, hearing dependency and delinquency cases and presiding over Lane County’s Recovery and Progress – Juvenile Treatment Court (RAP-JTC) program. Outside of the courtroom, she currently serves as a Board Member for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and has participated on various committees for NCJFCJ, including the Juvenile Law Advisory Committee, Military Committee, and Membership Committee Council, and the Juvenile Court Improvement Program Advisory Committee.

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Heather Murphy was hired as the Early Learning Administrator for South Lane School District in July 2021. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lane County for six years and at the Family Relief Nursery in Cottage Grove for 14 years. She served as a Cottage Grove City Councilor for eight years, four of them as Council President. She also contributed to numerous boards and committees focused on child abuse prevention, early childhood education, and rural health care at the local, county, and state levels. She earned a BA in Planning, Public Policy, and Management from the University of Oregon.

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Sheila Wegener is the Oregon Department of Human Services District Manager for Lane County. She leads self-sufficiency and child welfare programs that deliver services to eligible Oregonians. She has worked for ODHS for 27 years in a variety of roles and is recognized as a leader in the community, serving on the Community Advisory Council, Early Childhood of Lane County Governance Council, Lane County Poverty and Homelessness Board, and the Lane County Public Safety Juvenile Subcommittee. Additionally, she collaborates with many community-based organizations that support families. Sheila graduated from the University of Oregon and has lived in Lane County for over 30 years.

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Hannah Storms, the first questioner, is the Program Manager at Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lane County, where she leads volunteer advocacy efforts supporting children in foster care through systems coordination and trauma-informed practice. She is a graduate student in Couples and Family Therapy at the University of Oregon and earned an MS in Conflict Management and Resolution from the University of San Diego. She previously served as the Interim Program Director at a residential eating disorder treatment facility, where she led multidisciplinary clinical care. Her work focuses on trauma-informed practice, systems collaboration, and advocacy for vulnerable populations.