When Danny came to school at age 12 covered in bruises, his teacher called Child Protective Services (CPS). Danny told the CPS investigator his uncle, who had adopted him two years earlier, had beaten him for losing his glasses. He had bruises on his chest, thigh, neck, arm and face, all in the shape of a belt buckle.

His aunt and uncle relinquished their parental rights to him the next day and Danny was placed in foster care.

Danny was assigned Dallas CASA volunteer Cené to advocate for his needs. She saw a pretty typical 12-year-old boy who loved sneakers and rap music but who didn’t always listen and wasn’t doing well in school.

“I’ve always thought of him as a vibrant and lively young man,” Cené said. “He doesn’t reflect the profound struggles he’s been through.”

Danny’s first involvement with CPS came at birth, when he was born addicted to drugs. He spent time in foster care, then was adopted. His adoptive mother died when he was ten, so Danny went to live with his aunt and uncle, who then adopted him.

Cené, a mid-30s professional, wanted Danny to have stability and a family who loved him no matter what. First, he spent two years in a placement in Corsicana, but that placement was not interested in adoption. So he was placed with a family in Nevada, who backed out of adopting him after eight months.

“They said he was terrible, didn’t listen and didn’t want to be in their home,” Cené said. “It was so frustrating because to me he was just a teenager who was struggling to express his emotions.”

Two more placements followed, in Hutchins and then in Temple. The Hutchins placement was temporary, and then the Temple home broke down after Danny took the family’s car on a joy ride and wrecked it.

By this time, Danny was 15. He’d lost his adoptive mother, been abused and then cycled through four placements.

“This was really a hard point for all of us on the case,” Cené said. “But we just sprang into action. We convinced the Temple family to let Danny stay until we could find the right placement for his next move.”

An experienced foster family in Waco with “the biggest hearts” came forward.

“Even before Danny was placed in Waco, this foster dad was driving to Temple every weekend to visit,” Cené said. “He really wanted a son, and he was willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen.”

Once again in Waco, it was a rocky start for Danny. He was on his fifth school in four years. He was in his fifth home in four years, each one with a different set of rules and expectations. And he was still dealing with the trauma of his abuse and the uncertainty of foster care.

“It was so emotional for me when he moved,” Cené said. “The rug had been pulled out from under him so many times.”

Cené served as a pressure release valve for the foster dad, who called frequently to vent about Danny’s challenges settling in.

“I honestly think he would call me to vent because he wanted this to work so much,” she said. “He felt he could talk to me.”

Over the next weeks and months, Danny settled in. There were bumps and trials, but everyone was committed to making the placement work. Cené visited more frequently than usual to ensure the transition was working. As Danny settled in, the foster dad’s phone calls to Cené tapered off.

Cené says Danny today is a different kid. He’s gotten deeply involved in his church’s youth group and chose to be baptized recently. He’s foregone rap music for worship music. He started a part-time fast-food job and enrolled in driver’s education. He even made the basketball team, his first time playing an organized sport.

“He wants to make good decisions and walk the right path,” Cené said. “There’s just been an enormous maturity shift.”

In 2023, on National Adoption Day, Danny was adopted by his family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and two of Danny’s former foster placements attended. At the end, the judge let Danny himself bang the gavel to close the case.

“It took five times, but Danny found the perfect family for him,” Cené said.