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PHOENIX — <\/span>The staff caring for Jakob Blodgett said he already had been sneaking candy and refused to take his insulin. An employee at the Arizona group home where the 9-year-old boy was being cared for texted a supervisor about the boy’s elevated blood-glucose reading.<\/p>\n The response? Give him water. <\/p>\n After two missed doses of the long-lasting insulin he needed, he was taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with brain swelling, put on a ventilator and died in 2022<\/a> of complications from Type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n There were no penalties imposed for Blodgett\u2019s death, and Arizona’s largest group home provider now stands at the center of a political controversy swirling as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs seeks reelection. Records show Sunshine Residential Homes made political donations beneficial to Hobbs and months later received a rate increase from the state for providing beds for children.<\/p>\n The Arizona attorney general, a fellow Democrat, found no evidence of bribery. But Republican legislators are pushing back with their own questions, and the state auditor general’s office is conducting a separate investigation.<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s death and the pay-to-play allegations highlight questions about Arizona’s congregate-care capacity for children, training for workers who care for them and oversight of providers and other contractors who hold leverage over the state simply due to their size and influence. <\/p>\n Hobbs maintains she wasn\u2019t involved in the decision to increase rates for Sunshine Residential Homes. But Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, has made the scandal a centerpiece of his campaign to unseat her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was all handled by the department,” Hobbs said, “and they made the decision based on what was in the best interest of the department and the kids in their care.\u201d<\/p>\n The allegations were first reported by The Arizona Republic and prompted an investigation by Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. However, Mayes’ office said it couldn’t find evidence<\/a> to support bribery charges against Hobbs and concluded that Sunshine\u2019s rate increases were the result of its \u201coutsized leverage\u201d as the state’s largest group home provider, not because of politics. <\/p>\n The company had threatened to reduce its bed capacity if it didn\u2019t get an increase, saying it would instead use beds to house unaccompanied immigrant children for the federal government, officials said. Child welfare officials have said a reduction in Sunshine\u2019s beds would significantly affect the state\u2019s ability to place children in homes and would likely lead to siblings in foster care being split up and sent to different homes.<\/p>\n In all, Sunshine made $550,000 in contributions, including $100,000 to Hobbs\u2019 inaugural fund in December 2022 and $150,000 to a legal defense fund for Hobbs between November 2023 and May 2024, according to records.<\/p>\n A separate investigation by the state auditor general\u2019s office and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, is continuing. <\/p>\n The Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office also has interviewed several Sunshine employees as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into Blodgett\u2019s death. No one has been charged.<\/p>\n Blodgett isn’t the only diabetic child to die after a stay at an Arizona group home. In July 2024, a 15-year-old boy staying at a group home in Mesa operated by another company died of diabetic ketoacidosis after staff said the boy refused to take insulin, according to records.<\/p>\n Blodgett was staying at a foster home in metro Phoenix where only the house manager was trained in managing his diabetes. <\/p>\n Staff members said the boy was refusing to take his medicine. The manager advised an employee via text to tell the boy that the manager would be called if he refused to take his medicine. <\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want him to go into a diabetic coma,\u201d the manager texted. <\/p>\n The employee texted back about whether the child should get insulin. The manager didn’t respond. <\/p>\n The next day, the employee texted the boy’s blood glucose reading to the manager and asked what to do. The manager said to give Blodgett water but didn’t give any instructions about insulin, according to lawyers for the state and Blodgett’s family. The day after missing his second dose, Blodgett was taken to a hospital.<\/p>\n Two weeks before approving a 30% rate increase in May 2023, the Arizona Department of Child Safety issued a licensing violation against Sunshine over Blodgett’s case. The agency declined to specify to The Associated Press which policy was violated. <\/p>\n Robert Pastor, an attorney representing the family in a wrongful death lawsuit, said the violation was for not giving Blodgett the insulin as prescribed. The lawyer said Sunshine\u2019s staff missed the signs of ketoacidosis, a serious complication caused by a lack of insulin, and waited too long to take Blodgett to the hospital. He also disputed claims that the boy had refused medication. <\/p>\n The state didn’t fine Sunshine or suspend or revoke its license as a result of the violation, according to court records. The agency said it detailed the steps Sunshine had to take to come into compliance, but declined to reveal to the AP what those steps were. <\/p>\n Pastor agreed with the attorney general’s conclusion that Sunshine has a lot of leverage over the state due to reliance on the company’s beds. <\/p>\n \u201cThat leverage gave Sunshine an increased rate increase,\u201d Pastor said. \u201cWe also know that that leverage that Sunshine has over DCS means that when they kill a child, there will be no consequences. There will be no accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Sunshine spokesperson Tommy McKone said the wrongful death lawsuit remains active, but declined to comment on the licensing violation and the company\u2019s policy on responding to children who refuse medications. <\/p>\n \u201cSunshine Residential followed all policies and procedures for the required care, throughout his stay at our homes, under state law,\u201d McKone said.<\/p>\n In court records, lawyers for Sunshine said the state indicated Blodgett\u2019s medical needs were minimal and didn\u2019t inform the group home provider that Blodgett\u2019s diabetes management was complex. <\/p>\n Blodgett went into foster care in December 2022 after his father was jailed on a drug charge. His blood glucose levels were high when he was brought to a welcome center operated by the Department of Child Safety, which sought medical help<\/a> for Blodgett from a children\u2019s hospital where he was treated over several days.<\/p>\n Once discharged, Blodgett went to a Sunshine home. <\/p>\n While he went two days without getting the long-lasting insulin he needed before going to bed, the staff did give him another type of insulin \u2014 fast-acting insulin after eating meals \u2014 over both days. After the boy missed a long-lasting dose, the house manager contacted the same hospital to talk about how to improve his blood glucose levels.<\/p>\n In a deposition, the house manager testified there was nothing the staff could do if the child refused his medication. Pastor said the claim that the boy refused insulin is a false narrative aimed at blaming the child.<\/p>\n Myriam Villarreal, an official in the Department of Child Safety\u2019s operation that licenses group homes, testified in an April 2025 deposition that Blodgett\u2019s condition wasn\u2019t caught in time because group home workers weren\u2019t trained in spotting the signs of ketoacidosis.<\/p>\n Pressed on why the company didn\u2019t face any penalties, Villarreal testified that the state asked for policy modifications from the company. And she said training should have been provided to the staff members who directly cared for the boy, not just the house manager.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t look that every single staff (member) had the appropriate training,\u201d Villarreal testified.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n