Jakob Blodgett was an affectionate 9-year-old who loved to play video games and adored his dad.
“They let him die. They killed him,” said Jakob's grandmother, Cheryl Doenges.
Doenges’ diabetic grandson died just 18 days after he was placed in Arizona’s foster care system.
“He had done absolutely nothing wrong. Just a little boy living his life. And they took it away from him; they took him away from all of us,” Doenges said.
Medical records obtained by the ABC15 Investigators show the state struggled to manage Jakob’s diabetes from the beginning, and the group home where Arizona’s Department of Child Safety placed Jakob allowed him to refuse the insulin, which he needed to stay alive.
Jakob died due to complications of diabetes a day after Christmas in 2022, according to the autopsy.
“They need to accept responsibility because the Arizona Department of Child Safety killed Jacob Blodgett,” said Attorney Robert Pastor who is representing Jakob’s father.
Pastor recently filed a notice of claim, the precursor to a lawsuit, against DCS and the Phoenix group home where Jakob was placed.
“This is a systemic failure,” said Pastor.
The 48-page legal claim details failures by DCS to protect Jakob and make sure he had his life-saving medication.
DCS took custody of Jakob on December 9, 2022, after records show Show Low police arrested his dad, Richard Blodgett, in a drug case.
“There is no doubt that Richard Blodgett made mistakes, and he acknowledges that. But that doesn't mean his son deserves to die,” Pastor said. “It wasn’t some rare disease.”
A day after going into DCS custody, medical records show the state took Jakob to the hospital, and a caseworker told medical staff they were “concerned that they are not equipped to manage his blood sugars without instructions as well as sufficient supplies.”
Two days later, the legal claim says Jakob was hospitalized at Phoenix Children’s.
On December 15, records show Jakob was discharged to a group home run by Sunshine Residential Homes after two administrators from the group home went to a two-day diabetes training at the hospital.
One of those administrators described it to detectives as “informal type training” where they got a “booklet” on diabetes and followed nursing staff while “they treated Jakob and other diabetic patients.”
“The Arizona Department of Child Safety failed to make sure that the group home knew just how important insulin was for a Type 1 diabetic,” explained Pastor.
Just days after Jakob’s placement on December 19, records show the manager at the group home reported to DCS that “Jakob refused to take his insulin.” The incident report states Phoenix Children’s was contacted for help, but it’s unclear what happened. By midnight the next day, Jakob was rushed to the hospital, this time by ambulance. It was the third time in 18 days he needed emergency care. Jakob died at the hospital five days later.
“I don’t understand how they could be so negligent, so cavalier with a little boy’s life,” Doenges said.
Records show Jakob’s brain was swollen and he had to be “put on a ventilator.” Doctors diagnosed him with diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication caused by not having enough insulin. It’s a preventable condition, which would ultimately kill him.
“Simply giving him medication and he’s alive. It’s as simple as that,” Pastor said.
When asked what responsibility DCS has to ensure children taken into their custody have the medical care they need, Pastor described it as a non-delegable duty under the law and said DCS can’t pawn their responsibility off on someone else.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has an open investigation into Jakob’s death. According to the incident report, when asked why Jakob was allowed to refuse his medication. The operations manager at the group home told detectives it was their policy “not to force medicate any of the children under their care.”
“They needed to be the adult. They needed to be the parent. They totally failed. You don’t let a 9-year-old make those kinds of decisions. It’s awful,” Pastor said.
“There is nothing acceptable about what happened,” said Doenges.
According to the Department of Child Safety’s own records, 25 kids died in state custody last year. At least four of those deaths were due to medical complications at group or foster homes.
“They need to do a better job. The Department of Child Safety promises to take care of Arizona’s children and time and time again, DCS fails,” Pastor said.
“We’re looking for justice for Jakob. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be neglected,” Doenges said.
Pastor said they do not have any factual information at this time to show Phoenix Children’s was negligent and believe the hospital was put in the difficult position of having to report Arizona DCS and Sunshine Residential Homes to law enforcement.
The ABC15 Investigators asked multiple times to interview the director of DCS and for any information it could share about what the agency is doing to prevent another tragedy like what happened to Jakob. DCS declined the request for an interview, and a spokesman said they do not comment on pending litigation.
Sunshine Residential Homes also told ABC15 it had no comment on Jakob’s death.
