Court awaiting psychologist’s independent report on Shved custody case

A judge said Monday he wants to hear from an independent psychologist before changing the court’s objective in the case of a Pasco couple trying to regain custody of their two kids.

Court Commissioner Joseph Schneider denied a request to make adoption the permanent plan, with returning the kids home to Olga and Boris Shved as the alternative option.

Assistant Attorney General Kevin Hartze, on behalf of the state Department of Social and Health Services, had included the plan changes in a proposed order to the court.

Lawyer Jennifer Azure supported adoption as the primary plan since the kids have been asking for it “for quite some time.” She was appointed to represent the brother and sister, who are being raised by a foster family in Minnesota.

But Schneider said it is too soon to make changes in the Franklin County Juvenile Court dependency cases until all parties receive a final report from Tacoma psychologist Loren W. McCollom.

The existing plan, set by Schneider a couple of years ago, has been for both adoption and reunification.

The Shved’s children were removed from the family home in June 2006 over allegations of child abuse. Ella was 4 months old at the time and Ryslan was 2 1/2.

Now 10 and 12, the kids long ago bonded with their foster family and feel secure in that home, and the foster parents have expressed an interest in adopting the siblings.

Adoption would mean the Shved’s parental rights are permanently terminated.

The kids remain under the care of the court because Olga and Boris Shved were found to be unfit parents in 2007.

In early 2014, a Franklin County Superior Court judge cleared Olga Shved of all criminal wrongdoing with her baby daughter. Another judge then reinstated the couple’s parental rights.

Those decisions came after Olga Shved served two years of a 10-year sentence in state prison before her assault conviction was reversed.

Schneider has said he must continue to act in the best interests of the children and won’t reverse his findings in the dependency cases from nine years ago. But he has been open to working toward possibly reuniting the family.

Ella and Ryslan initially were excited and hopeful about meeting their biological parents and used to have regular Skype visits. Olga Shved flew back to Minnesota last February and saw her kids for the first time in years.

However, as the couple were making arrangements for a second trip with Boris, the judge was told the kids were becoming traumatized by the process and wanted no further court involvement.

Eventually, Schneider suspended all visitations between the biological parents and their kids.

McCollom was brought on last year to review the cases once it became clear the relationship between the parents and kids had been severely damaged, and there would be no agreement on the best plan of action with all of the differing opinions.

McCollom recently met with Olga and Boris Shved, and attorneys say they anticipate his final report in the coming weeks.

He was asked to determine whether reunification is appropriate and, if so, what steps need to be taken to mend fences and make sure it is a positive and lasting process.

Schneider pointed out Monday that kids “operate on a great deal of emotion and very little logic. When things happen in a child’s world, the impact on them is much more severe, much more pronounced because their world is that of emotion.”

“When the child feels ... that their world is being threatened, then that detracts from, and in some instances, destroys the opportunity for a positive relationship to go forward,” he added. “That’s where Dr. McCollom comes in.”

Schneider said the hope is that McCollom’s report will provide the court and parties with “a new path to move forward.”

A review date has been set tentatively for March 21.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Court awaiting psychologist’s independent report on Shved custody case."