Mesa, Ariz. — Christian Williams’ parents did not lose him to abuse or neglect. They gave up custody of their 15-year-old son so he could get mental health care, according to a Sept. 30 NPR investigation. The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) placed him in a contracted therapeutic group home in Mesa. In July 2024, Christian, who had Type 1 diabetes, died there of diabetic ketoacidosis, a preventable condition caused by not having enough insulin.
NPR’s investigation, led by correspondent Joseph Shapiro, found Christian is one of many children with disabilities who entered foster care with promises of protection and specialized care, and instead were harmed or killed.
What happened to Christian Williams in Arizona DCS care
According to NPR, Christian lived at Logos House, a group home run by Catalyst Community Corporation under contract with DCS. An investigator found staff had no diabetes training, kept incomplete medication logs and had no records of insulin doses or glucose readings. NPR reported he was left on the floor for hours before staff called 911.
ABC15 previously reported, based on the family’s lawsuit against the State of Arizona and the group home, that a group home manager emailed DCS about a month before Christian died warning that his insulin refusals could kill him. The lawsuit alleges no action was taken. A social worker also asked for a home nurse, citing concerns about the home’s medical supplies, and the suit alleges the state again did nothing.
“We trusted the Department of Child Safety. He was in their care.”
Bobbie Williams, Christian’s mother, to ABC15
DCS told ABC15 at the time that the law enforcement and DCS licensing investigations were completed without further action. It declined to comment on NPR’s findings, citing pending litigation. NPR reported that the facility’s accreditation was renewed a month after Christian’s death.
Christian was not the first. Jakob Blodgett, 9, died of diabetes-related complications in December 2022, less than two weeks after entering Arizona foster care, NPR reported. Group home staff said they had never been trained in Type 1 diabetes care. Attorney Robert Pastor, who represents both families, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate DCS, Hoodline reported. The Justice Department had found in December 2024 that DCS violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
A 4-year-old restrained in a San Bernardino County foster home
NPR also reported on Avery Habelitz, a 4-year-old autistic girl removed from her parents in San Bernardino County, California, in September 2025. On Dec. 23, 2025, she was found unresponsive in her foster home, tied in a sweatshirt used as a restraint. The coroner listed the cause of death as combined hyperthermia with positional restraint.
Her parents are suing San Bernardino County, unnamed social workers and two foster family agencies for wrongful death. According to their lawyers, Avery’s ABA therapy and regional center services stopped after she was removed and were never restored, and written warnings that her placement could not meet her needs were ignored. The county has not been found liable.
“We were promised that her needs were going to be met.”
Jeremy Habelitz, Avery’s father, to NPR
What the data shows
NPR’s analysis of federal foster care data and published research found disabled children fare worse at nearly every step:
- They stay in foster care about 50% longer and are the least likely to be reunified with their parents or adopted.
- They average 4.6 placements, compared with 2.7 for non-disabled children.
- About 10% are placed in group or institutional settings, compared with 4% of non-disabled children.
- Only 20% live with relatives, compared with 32% of non-disabled children.
- A study by researcher Jill McLeigh of more than 3 million children found foster children with physical disabilities were about nine times more likely to die than non-disabled foster children.
NPR also reported that federal data on disability in foster care is so incomplete that the government cannot reliably count how many disabled children are in the system.
The real failure: removal instead of help
Christian’s story shows the cruelty at the heart of this system. His family did not need the state to take him. They needed mental health care. NPR reported that about 5% of children enter foster care through custody relinquishment, when parents give up custody to access services. Families are told the state can help only if they surrender their child, and then the state places that child in a facility untrained to keep him alive.
Avery’s parents say her therapy stopped the day she was removed. Children with disabilities are being pulled from the people who know their needs best, cut off from their services, and placed with strangers. That is not protection. It is an abuse of the power to remove, compounded by poor training and almost no accountability.
What families can do
If your child has a disability and you are being pressured to give up custody to get services, contact a disability rights organization or attorney before signing anything. If your child is removed, demand in writing that existing therapies, medical providers and supports continue, and ask exactly what training the placement has received. Raise every concern on the record in court.
Key facts
- Investigation: NPR, published Sept. 30, 2026
- Arizona: Christian Williams, 15, died July 2024 of diabetic ketoacidosis in a DCS-contracted Mesa group home; Jakob Blodgett, 9, died December 2022
- California: Avery Habelitz, 4, autistic, died Dec. 23, 2025, in a San Bernardino County foster home; coroner cited hyperthermia and positional restraint
- Federal finding: DOJ found in December 2024 that Arizona DCS violated the ADA
- Risk: Foster children with physical disabilities about nine times more likely to die than non-disabled foster children, per research cited by NPR
- Lawsuits: Williams and Habelitz families are suing; allegations are unproven
Sources
- NPR — They were promised protection. Instead, these kids with disabilities died in foster care (Sept. 30, 2026)
- ABC15 Arizona — Lawsuit reveals more details on diabetic teen’s death in AZ foster care (Feb. 12, 2025)
- Hoodline — Phoenix Lawyer Demands Feds Probe DCS After Diabetic Kids Die in State Care (May 22, 2026)
- Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP (plaintiffs’ counsel) — Parents File Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Four-Year-Old Autistic Girl Dies in San Bernardino County Foster Care (July 16, 2026)
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