Opinion ID: 625611
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: H.'s Placement in the Templeton Home

Text: In December 2003, after seeing a television program that C.H. was in, Gwen Templeton felt moved to adopt him. Jane Doe and her son, John Doe, lived in the Templetons' home from about April 2002 to about August 2004. The Does then moved out for a while. Around October or November 2004, Jane Doe began to move her and her son John back into the Templetons' home. Record evidence shows that, at times, accounts of who resided in the Templeton home were not consistent. For example, around March 2004, Gwen Templeton wrote in a questionnaire for prospective adoptive parents that Jane and John Doe lived in the Templeton house. But in an application for adoption dated 18 April 2004, Gwen Templeton wrote None in the space to list children at home. As a preliminary step to C.H.'s possible adoption, Defendant English compiled C.H.'s life history; a life history typically consists, among other things, of a narrative, social updates, and medical and psychological records. English (of Laurens County) forwarded the life history report to Defendant Evans of Cherokee County (where the Templetons lived). English and Evans testified that the life history report sent by English and received by Evans included a copy of the Whitley Report and other psychological evaluations. But English also testified that she did not update other portions of C.H.'s file with information taken from the Whitley Report. [3] Before C.H. went to live in the Templetons' home, Evans conducted a home study by going to the Templetons' home in the summer of 2004. Later, Evans met with Gwen Templeton on 2 November 2004 (Harold Templeton did not attend). Gwen Templeton says that she was given a big book of information but that she did not look at it because [i]t was just too much. She was also separately given Dr. Anderson's report, which is a 7-page document prepared in January 2003 that does not discuss C.H.'s sexual issues. Gwen Templeton took Dr. Anderson's report. She did not ask about the existence or availability of newer information. Gwen Templeton says the choice, at the time, was either to sit there and look through the big book with Evans or otherwise to take Dr. Anderson's report. She did not go through the big book. On 19 November 2004, the Templetons met with several government social workers. A portion of C.H.'s life history was discussed. Gwen Templeton remembers hearing that C.H. may have been sexually abused as a child and that he was looking at pictures of naked men. She does not remember discussion about whether C.H. inappropriately touched another child. One of the social workers asked the Templetons if they would be comfortable if C.H. had a same-sex preference. The Whitley Report and its recommendations were not discussed. On 17 December 2004 (the placement date), the Templetons met with Braddy and English to pick up C.H. from the group home where he was living and take him to the Templetons' home where he was then to reside. The Templetons were provided with C.H.'s life history: a lot of material. Each Templeton reviewed it some time later. Both Templetons say they did not see the Whitley Report and were not made aware of the Report or its contents during the adoption process.