PHOENIX — Too many children are dying in Arizona’s child welfare system.
The ABC15 Investigators found that, on average, 20 children a year have died since 2018 in the Arizona Department of Child Safety’s custody.
“Why does this need to keep occurring death after death after death?” said longtime foster parent Anika Robinson.
According to DCS records, 14 kids died in the state’s care in 2024, and 19 kids lost their lives in 2023. In 2022, 25 children died while in Arizona’s child welfare system.
“Any child dying in our custody is not acceptable. And we use systematic learning to make changes to make the recurrence less likely,” DCS Director Kathryn Ptak told ABC15 in a recent interview.
Ptak said many of the in-custody deaths are from natural causes, but other high-profile in-custody deaths have raised questions about the agency tasked with protecting the state’s most vulnerable children.
Child Fatality Reports
The Department of Child Safety also investigates children who have died from abuse, abandonment or neglect by a parent or guardian that has been substantiated. These are considered deaths that are not in DCS custody.
The department posts the child fatality reports on its website to bring awareness and help prevent future tragedies.
The ABC15 Investigators reviewed more than 100 child fatality reports since 2020 and found that more than half of the fatalities occurred in cases where DCS had prior involvement.
On average, families had two prior reports to DCS before a death occurred over the last five years.
The approximate age of children dying is four and a half years old, with 40% of the deaths happening in Phoenix.
Below are the three high-profile in-custody deaths, which have raised questions about the department and its role in keeping children safe.
Zariah Dodd
Zariah Dodd, 16, was found shot and killed at a park in Phoenix near 55th Avenue and Osborn Road in July.
The teen was found murdered after going missing from a Surprise group home.
Police accuse 36-year-old Jurrell Davis and 18-year-old Jechri James-Gillett of shooting and killing Dodd, who was pregnant at the time. Investigators say Davis was the father of Dodd’s unborn child.
Court records show that while she was in the state’s care, Dodd told her DCS caseworker and roommate she was afraid in the days and months before her murder.
The DCS caseworker told officers after Dodd’s murder, “Zariah felt that if she did not have sexual intercourse…he would have done something to her with the handgun.”
DCS told ABC15 it reported the incident with the gun to Phoenix police in April 2025.
Phoenix and Surprise police would not confirm to ABC15 if they took the call, who investigated, or why a forensic interview wasn’t scheduled until three months later, on July 8th.
Ptak said DCS has launched a review into Dodd’s case to learn what went wrong and potential areas for improvement.
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Two kids with Type 1 diabetes have died in DCS custody
Jakob Blodgett, 9, and Christian William, 15, both had Type 1 diabetes and died in DCS custody from preventable conditions caused by not having enough insulin.
“They let him die. They killed him,” said Jakob's grandmother, Cheryl Doenges, in a previous interview with ABC15.
Medical records obtained by the ABC15 Investigators showed the state struggled to manage Jakob’s diabetes from the beginning, and the group home where DCS placed Jakob allowed him to go without the insulin he needed to stay alive.
Jakob died due to complications of diabetes a day after Christmas in 2022, according to the autopsy.
Christian died in July 2024 while living at a Mesa group home. Staff called 911, but the call for help was ultimately too late to save Christian’s life.
According to police reports and a state incident report, Christian was also allowed to go without his insulin.
“They failed us,” said Christian’s mother, Bobbie Williams.
Mesa police body camera video obtained by the ABC15 Investigators also brought into question whether the group home’s employees were properly trained to manage Christian’s diabetes.
Both families have filed lawsuits against the state.
“This is the Department of Child Safety, and they’ve lost sight of the children and the concept of safety,” said attorney Robert Pastor in a previous interview with ABC15.
In Christian and Jakob’s deaths, neither meets DCS’s requirements for a child fatality review.
ABC15 launched an in-depth series in September titled DCS: State of Failure.
This ongoing project is spearheaded by the ABC15 Investigators and includes exclusive interviews and analysis from ABC15’s team.
ABC15 launched DCS: State of Failure because too often, and for far too long, Arizona has failed to protect vulnerable children from abuse, neglect, and danger.
For more, click here.
Have a tip about the Department of Child Safety you want us to consider? Email our team at DCS@abc15.com
