A 9-year-old boy named Jakob Blodgett died in 2022 after missing critical insulin doses while staying at a group home in Arizona. The staff at the facility reported that Blodgett had been sneaking candy and refused to take his insulin. When an employee texted a supervisor about the boy’s elevated blood sugar levels, the response was to give him water. After two missed doses of long-acting insulin, Blodgett was hospitalized with brain swelling and placed on a ventilator. He later died from complications related to Type 1 diabetes. No legal penalties were imposed for his death, and the incident has sparked controversy around the group home provider, Sunshine Residential Homes, which is Arizona’s largest provider of such facilities. Sunshine Residential Homes had made political donations to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, including $100,000 to her inaugural fund and $150,000 to her legal defense fund. Shortly after these contributions, the state approved a 30% increase in the rate the company would be paid for providing beds for children. The Arizona attorney general, also a Democrat, found no evidence of bribery in the case, stating that the rate increase was due to the company's "outsized leverage" over the state. However, Republican lawmakers are questioning the situation, and the state auditor general is conducting an independent investigation. The controversy has raised concerns about the quality of care in Arizona’s group homes, the training of staff, and the oversight of large providers who have significant influence over state policy. Republican candidate Andy Biggs has made the issue a central part of his campaign to challenge Governor Hobbs. Hobbs has denied any involvement in the rate increase decision. The allegations were first reported by The Arizona Republic and led to an investigation by Attorney General Kris Mayes, who concluded that no evidence of bribery was found. Meanwhile, the state auditor general and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell are continuing their own investigations, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has interviewed several Sunshine employees as part of a criminal probe into Blodgett’s death. No charges have been filed yet. Blodgett is not the only diabetic child to die in an Arizona group home. In July 2024, a 15-year-old boy at a different facility in Mesa died from diabetic ketoacidosis after staff said he refused to take insulin. Text messages show that concerns about a diabetic coma were raised, but no clear instructions were given on how to proceed. In Blodgett’s case, the house manager reportedly told staff to give him water instead of insulin when his blood sugar was dangerously high. The manager also did not respond to a text about whether insulin should be administered. Two days after missing his second dose, Blodgett was taken to the hospital, but it was too late. The Arizona Department of Child Safety issued a licensing violation against Sunshine Residential Homes two weeks before approving the 30% rate increase. However, the agency did not specify which policy was broken. Jakob’s attorney argued that the violation was due to failure to provide the necessary insulin, and that the staff missed signs of ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by a lack of insulin. The attorney also disputed claims that Blodgett had refused his medication, calling it an attempt to shift blame onto the child. Despite the violation, the state did not fine the company or take away its license, instead requiring it to make policy changes. The agency has not disclosed what those changes were.