In a packed courtroom filled with family, friends and a table laid with cake and gifts, Kammi Murray listened to a speech from a man she once hated, and smiled.Cody Gibney was the Child Protective Services worker who took Murray’s daughters from her. But on Tuesday, July 7, he was an honored speak er at a courthouse ceremony for Murray and her fiancé, Jordan Hoover, the latest graduates of The Polk County Circuit’s Family Recovery Court program.The ceremony included speeches from the judge who oversaw their case, Polk County Commissioner Jeremy Gordon, caseworkers, lawyers and family. Around 70 gathered — a year ago they had no one. The couple is among the first to graduate from the recovery court, which brings caseworkers, court staff, Department of Human Services workers and service providers together in weekly meetings with the goal of helping parents become sober and stable enough to get their children back from state custody. Gibney fought back tears, recalling the moment that he learned Murray and Hoover requested he give a speech at their graduation.“It’s a huge honor,” Gibney said. “How do you capture a lot of really horrible things that got us to this place? A lot of struggle, a lot of pain. But then there’s this beautiful journey that took place over the course of almost a year.” Providing punctuation to his speech were squeals from 11-month-old Harlie Hoover, who was returned to her parents’ custody and would spend the latter half of the celebration sleeping in her mother’s arms. Gibney first met Murray about five years ago when she lost custody of her first daughter, who was ultimately adopted.Murray again had drugs in her system the day Harlie was born, which meant another visit from Gibney and another daughter taken. “He walked in the hospital room, when I had Harlie, and I was like, ‘Oh my god. No. I hate this man so much,’” she recalled in an interview, then smiled. “We’re good friends, now.” They talked over the course of a few days, while she recovered from childbirth at the hospital. They talked about whether raising Harlie would be the right choice. They talked about her and Hoover’s substance use. They talked about the dilapidated motor home the two were living in at the time, parked at a Monmouth church.They also talked about her relationship with Hoover, who had missed the birth because he was sitting in jail.“We started from ground zero. And I think one of the things that everybody in this room knows is that our system in Oregon is so depleted — to a state that it is really hard to get people back on their feet, because they have to be creative,” Gibney said.  But, he said, the couple was ready to get to work. Gibney visited Hoover in jail at Murray’s request and gave him his phone number. He asked Hoover to call when he was released and promised he’d drop everything to respond.To his surprise, Hoover called. Hoover was the first and only person in his position to reach out to Gibney.“Missing her birth, being in jail, was a huge wakeup call for me,” Hoover said in an interview. Hoover said it made him realize he wanted to get out of the cycles he was in. Gibney picked him up, and they talked for hours.“I was like, ‘Jordan. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,’” Gibney said in his speech, to murmured agreement from those gathered. “To this day, you amaze me with your brain and your understanding of who you are, and where you’re going.” Those conversations began the couples’ sobriety and their yearlong effort to graduate from a program, proving to Gibney, the state and the Polk County Court that they are safe, capable parents. Polk County Circuit Court Judge Norm Hill, who led the graduation ceremony from his bench, got to know the couple over the course of a year.  Hill explained that the family recovery court model emerged from the drug court model, which sought to use a court’s ability to convene representatives from law enforcement, family services, substance use treatment and other related resources to try to disrupt repeated arrests that didn’t lead to long term stability or positive life changes. Polk County’s mental health court works under the same premise, Hill said. Polk County Circuit Court Judge Norm Hill speaks during during a Family Recovery Court graduation ceremony. Hill led the graduation recognizing participants’ achievements in the Family Recovery program. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Without family recovery court, parents who lose custody of their children due to substance use issues are typically handed a referral and told to meet with a caseworker once a month, Hill said, and most parents don’t engage.When Polk County closed its drug court two years ago due to budget cuts, the court partnered with the Department of Human Services to use the existing infrastructure to start running a treatment court.Hill convenes treatment court every Tuesday morning, where he goes over every active case with a group of therapists, drug treatment providers, Department of Human Services workers, case workers, attorneys and housing agencies. Sometimes, representatives from the district attorney’s office will join.The parents in the program get to watch as the team works to identify barriers to treatment, housing and success, and remove them in-real time, rather than over a weeks-long chain of emails and phone calls.“What used to take us 60, 90, sometimes 120 days can now get done within five minutes because you have all the players at the table,” Hill said during the ceremony. It’s also a time to check in with families about how they’re doing and give them encouragement or find ways to help redirect them if an issue arises.Parents move through the program in phases, Hill said, starting with the child being in the state’s custody with the parents showing up to court every Tuesday. Eventually, they will move to a phase with conditional custody, and court visits around twice a month, which tapers off the closer they get to graduation. The goal is to help teach parenting skills.  Hill said the biggest change between treatment court and drug court is that there are few negative sanctions happening. The parents have already lost their child, the worst thing had already happened, so the court is now part of the team working to support the family’s reunification. Gibney said that getting into housing was the largest barrier for Hoover and Murray. After Harlie was born and as they worked through the court, the couple went from the RV to a tent near the DHS office, where they fully engaged in meetings aimed to help them find stable housing and recovery, Gibney said. From there, they spent weeks living at Her Place and His Place in Marion County, transitional housing paired with substance-use treatment. They then stayed in an independent sober living community.As of the graduation ceremony, they have their own apartment in Dallas with Harlie, paid for with support from a Section 8 housing voucher, Hoover said. They’ve been able to have their daughter at home since January.During the graduation ceremony, the jury box was filled with the people who helped the family through treatment court. Each stood and gave a speech, recalling moments the couples challenged and impressed them. Each emphasized the hard work and determination the pair put in every step of the way.  Faith Hoover, mother of Family Recovery Court graduate Jordan Hoover, watches the ceremony from the audience. Hoover said she was proud of her son for graduating from the program and enrolling in an electrician program through Chemeketa Community College. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Hill said in an interview that he enjoys getting to see the best brought out of people he met at the hardest times in their lives.“As they gain sobriety, as they get into recovery, it just restores your faith in humanity. These are human beings, and they’re nice, and they love their kids. And they’re great parents. And they’ve just got this disease that’s stopping them,” Hill said. “And that’s really what this is about.”During his speech, Gibney invited the couple to take in the support system around them, who had dressed up, brought balloons, and cheered and clapped throughout the speeches. When the couple turned around, the cheers ramped up, and someone shouted, “We love you!”A year ago, the couple had been entirely alone, having burned their bridges with their family members. The audience included their parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and Murray’s oldest daughter. Hoover’s mom was moved to tears throughout.Gibney said the hardest part of his job is helping a family with a newborn rebuild their community. He said that the couple’s tenacity helped bulldoze those barriers down. “Throughout the last year, it has been amazing to watch your community come in behind you. As a caseworker, as the Oregon Department of Human Services, if we can help you reconnect with your community, we’ve done our job,” he said. “This is a really great example of what is possible through a really broken system.”In interviews, both Hoover and Murray said they struggled to find the words to describe the excitement and gratitude they felt on their graduation day.“I’m looking forward to having a family that’s stable — being a dad and a husband and providing for my family and my life,” Hoover said.Hoover is attending Chemeketa Community College and is on-track to become an electrician. Murray is considering becoming a dental hygienist.At the end of the speeches, they were invited to share anything they felt.“We love you guys,” Hoover said.“I’ll never forget this day,” Murray added.By that point, Harlie was fast asleep in Murray’s arms.She didn’t wake when Hoover banged the honorary gavel to signify the closure of their case.They plan to celebrate Harlie’s first birthday with a barbecue, surrounded by family. Kammi Murray holds her sleeping daughter Harlie, who will turn 1 year old on July 19, at her Family Recovery Court graduation in early July. Murray is considering becoming a dental hygienist. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Jordan Hoover (left) and Kammi Murray hold up their graduation certificates in celebration of their successful completion of the Family Recovery program at the Polk County Circuit Court, where family and friends gathered to congratulate their achievements. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Faith Hoover, mother of Family Recovery Court graduate Jordan Hoover, said she was “so proud” of her son. She said she’s most looking forward to watching him be a great parent in the years to come (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Family Recovery Court graduate Jordan Hoover opens a gift during his Family Recovery Court graduation ceremony. Hoover said he looks forward to continuing the electrician program at Chemeketa Community College. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. Make Salem Reporter your trusted source for accurate, independent local news – every day. Stay informed and connected to your community. Subscribe today. The post In a packed courtroom, Polk County celebrates a child’s return home appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less