The boy in the crisp black suit stood at the judge's bench. His red necktie, and face framed by wire-rimmed glasses, were all that were visible to most in the courtroom. In a clear, strong voice, 11-year-old Jonathan Denny spoke his first words as a new son.
"When I first heard I was going to be adopted, I was very excited," he said, speaking without notes, to his new parents and siblings. "I am glad to have Kevin, who is a great uncle, and my aunt, who is loving and caring. I also have Kimberly, Josh, Timmy, Nick, and Ryan, who helped make this happen. Thank you."
He left the bench to heartfelt applause, moist eyes, and high praise.
"He is a young gentleman," said Judge Amy L. Nechtem, who presided over the adoption in Essex County Juvenile Court in Salem. "He is so well-spoken. He is confident. . . . I have every hope that he will grow up to be successful."
Jonathan Michael Denny - born in Lynn and raised in six foster homes - is the newest member of the Denny family of Woburn. He was adopted this month by his aunt and uncle, Michelle and Kevin Denny. The Dennys - a clan blended from the couple's prior marriages - have deep family ties to the state's foster care system. Michelle and Kevin both grew up in foster homes. In January, the couple plan to adopt 11-month-old Jordan, who is Jonathan's biological brother.
"We wanted them to have a family," said Kevin Denny, 46. "With Jonathan, we wanted him to understand that he was not just a guest here, that this is his home."
Nechtem noted the couple's personal journey through foster care.
"You know what it is like to feel great loss, to feel unsafe," said Nechtem, one of several judges who presided in special court sessions to celebrate National Adoption Day on Nov. 16. "What an extraordinary gift you have given Jonathan."
Jonathan came to live with the Dennys four years ago as a nephew and cousin they barely knew. He's now the fourth son in a family of five siblings ages 11 to 22. All but one live with their parents in an apartment in Woburn. Kevin owns K&M Painting, and Michelle, 42, works as an aide for mentally disabled adults at CMARC, a Woburn-based nonprofit agency.
Kimberly, who is also 11 and Jonathan's constant companion, already has noticed a big change in him. "Now, since he's my brother, he's more mature," she said, watching Jonathan play basketball. "When he first came to live with us, he bothered me and stuff. . . . Now I like having him."
Jonathan will turn 12 on Sunday, a birthday he shares with Nechtem. When Jonathan pointed out that troubled pop star Britney Spears also shares their birthday, the judge said, "I'm much prouder that I share the birthday with you."
He loves video games, Spiderman, and his dog, Max. He likes to shoot hoops and play dodgeball at the Stoneham Boys & Girls Club, where he goes after school and on Saturdays. He shares secret handshakes with Kimberly and feeds cheese curls to Jordan for breakfast. "He likes them," Jonathan said simply.
Jonathan and Jordan were born to the same mother. After state social workers declared that she couldn't take care of him, Jordan was placed into foster care with the Dennys. "I said to Michelle, 'If you go to see the baby, I know you'll be coming home with him,' " said Kevin Denny, with a smile. "Nine days later, she bought a car seat and went to the hospital to get him."
Among foster care adoptions, 11-month-old Jordan would be easier to place than 11-year-old Jonathan. Older children and teenagers are the hardest to match with adoptive families, according to data collected by the state Department of Social Services.
Of the 549 foster children waiting to be adopted, 27 percent are children ages 9 to 11, the highest percentage of any age group, which spans birth to 18 years old, the data show. They may often wait a year or two to find an adoptive family, said Deborah Sullivan, director of recruitment at the state Department of Social Services.
"Families tend to shy away from an older child," Sullivan said. "People think their pattern of behavior is already established. There's a real lack of understanding with this age group. . . . We work very hard to demystify the issues the children are facing."
A common myth: Foster children are responsible for being removed from their home. Most awaiting adoption were either abused or neglected by parents who no longer can care for them, Sullivan noted.
"There is a tendency to blame the children rather than look at the family dynamics," she said. "These kids are dealing with the loss of a family, and in many cases have to adjust to living in a new community and with a new family. . . . It takes some understanding."
The Dennys understand the emotional journey. Kevin, who was born in Somerville, lived in a number of homes but was never adopted. "It's an ugly life," he recalled. "I always said if I had the opportunity to save a child, I'd take it."
At age 3, Michelle Denny went to live in a foster home in Wakefield. Nine years later, the family adopted her and her younger sister, who is Jonathan and Jordan's birth mother. "Kevin and I had different experiences," she said. "I had a wonderful mother."
Jonathan went to his first foster home when he was a 4-year-old living in Lynn.
Over the next three years, he lived in six different homes. Some he stayed in for only a few hours, and one he lived in for two years. Some were good and some were bad, he recalled.
"One lady hit with a high heel, and another one locked me in a closet," said Jonathan, who is now in sixth grade. "One lady told me not to tell [DSS], but I did anyhow. I didn't want to be there anymore. She kept hurting me. I was like 5 or 4."
All along, Jonathan said, he trusted the social workers handling his case. "They would always come see me," he said, rattling off their names. "If something was wrong, I would tell them, and they would take care of it."
For two years, Jonathan lived in a home on the South Shore. His foster mother took him on three trips to Florida, gave him a Christmas stocking, and a made him a Spiderman birthday cake.
He hoped she might adopt him but she already had a son and did not, Jonathan said.
He was then 7 years old. The state contacted his aunt, Michelle Denny, who hadn't seen much of him since he was born. Still, she welcomed him into her home. "Coming here felt different than the other [foster homes] because it was my family," he said.
About a year later, the Dennys started adoption proceedings.
"I'm very proud to be a Denny," Jonathan said, shortly after his adoption was finalized. "I'm glad to have this happen. The family is just great."
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.
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