According to California Penal Code 270 (PC), child neglect occurs when a legal guardian or parent intentionally or willfully declines to provide necessities such as food, clothing, health care, and shelter to their child.

A conviction for child neglect can have severe consequences, for example, serving time in prison or being subject to fines that impact many aspects of your life. If you are facing child neglect charges, you want to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer.

At Monterey Criminal Attorney, our lawyers are ready to help you build strong defenses and fight the allegations against you. Contact us today so that we can review and start working on your case.

What Constitutes Child Neglect Per Penal Code 270?

Per California PC 270, child neglect is the legal guardian’s or parent's failure to provide necessary care for their child without a lawful excuse. Therefore, you could face charges if you fail to offer your child food, shelter, medical care, and clothing without a lawful excuse.

To secure your conviction, the prosecution must prove the following key elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

  • You are the legal guardian or parent of the minor.

  • You failed to provide physical necessities.

  • You had no lawful excuse for your failure to provide the necessary care.

Definition of Terms

Physical Necessity

Physical necessity refers to the essential requirements for a child's physical health and safety. Under Penal Code 270, these necessities include adequate food, proper clothing, safe shelter, and medical care. You must provide these essentials to support your child’s well-being and development.

Willfully Failing to Provide for Your Child

Willfully means that you intentionally and knowingly failed to provide the necessary care for your child. Even though you did not intend to harm your child, your actions were deliberate.

Lawful Excuse

A lawful excuse under PC 270 is a legally acceptable reason for failing to meet your child's needs. This can include situations where you genuinely lack the financial means to provide for your child’s needs despite your efforts to seek employment or help.

For example, Carol, a single mother, cannot meet her son’s needs because she was retrenched and has not found employment. In this case, the judge cannot convict Carol because she has a lawful excuse. She has no source of income, and it is not her fault.

However, Carol can face neglect charges if she does not actively look for a job after retrenchment.

You could face charges if you lack the financial means to provide for your child’s needs due to using your money for other purposes. Your child’s needs should always be your priority.

For example, Jane purchases a washing machine, knowing she does not have enough money to last until her next pay. As a coping mechanism, she fails to provide breakfast and lunch to her daughter. Here, Jane is guilty of child neglect.

Also, if a church, food bank, another parent, or neighbor helps your child on your behalf without you bothering to seek help, you could attract a PC 270 violation charge.

A Child

Under California law, a child is defined as any person under 18. This law also mandates parents of unborn children to provide for their necessities.

A Parent

A parent can constitute a range of individuals responsible for a child’s care, including:

  • Biological parents.

  • Adoptive parents.

  • Legal guardians.

  • Step parents.

  • A person assuming parental responsibility.

You have Assumed Parental Responsibility or Legally Adopted a Child

When you adopt a child or assume parental responsibility through guardianship, you are legally recognized as the child's parent. This means you are obligated to provide for the child's physical necessities. Failing to meet these responsibilities can result in child neglect charges.

You Cohabit With or are Married to the Minor’s Mother

You are considered a parent if you cohabit with or are married to the minor’s mother. This includes step-parents or partners who have taken on the duties and responsibilities of a parent. This is so even without a biological connection. Your role in the child's life places you under the same obligation to provide necessary care.

You are also considered the father of a child even if your spouse conceived that child through artificial insemination, especially if you agreed by signing for it to take place.

You are the father of a child, even in a situation where your spouse has been sleeping with several men and has become pregnant. However, you can file a paternity suit within twenty-four months of the baby being born to determine whether the child is yours biologically. The judge will then free you from any responsibilities toward the minor if they determine you are not the father through a paternity test.

You Divorced the Minor’s Mother

If divorced from the minor's mother, you still have to provide your child with basic needs. The responsibilities do not cease at the end of the marriage. Regardless of custody arrangements or unless a court orders otherwise, you must ensure that your child receives adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.

California PC 270 also requires you to provide for your children, even if you had a one-night-stand engagement with the minor’s mother. However, if you did not have a relationship with the mother and were not aware of the child’s existence and the minor was given up for adoption, the law does not obligate you to provide for that child.

Who is Considered Not a Parent Under Penal Code 270?

Under PC 270, not everyone interacting with a child is legally recognized as a parent. You are not the child’s parent if you are a distant relative, friend, or acquaintance of the minor's mother or father or a temporary caregiver such as a babysitter.

You are also not a parent if your legal custody rights were taken away from you, such as by a former adoptive or foster parent. This means you are not obligated to meet the minor’s physical necessities.

Is Neglecting an Unborn Child a PC 270 Violation?

If you neglect the physical necessities of your unborn child, you could face PC 270 violation charges. The statute requires that you take proper prenatal and nutritional care for the unborn child.

Penalties for Penal Code 270 Violation

Child neglect is a wobbler. So, the prosecution may prosecute you for either a misdemeanor or felony offense, depending on the facts of your case.

If convicted of a misdemeanor, you could face up to one year in jail and or a fine of up to $2,000. The court might grant summary probation instead of jail time, and you must attend mandatory parenting classes and have regular check-ins with a probation officer.

If aggravating factors, such as death or deteriorating health for the minor, are present, you could be charged with a felony. You could also face felony PC 270 violation charges if a paternity suit is filed, you are declared the father of a child, and you still do not provide for your child. A felony conviction can result in up to one year, one day in prison, and a fine of $2,000.

Immigration Consequences

A PC 270 violation does not attract immigration consequences such as deportation or immigration, as it is not a crime of moral turpitude. However, if a minor suffers great bodily harm due to your failure to meet their physical necessities, the court could consider your case a crime of moral turpitude.

Therefore, a felony conviction due to the aggravated factors could result in deportation if a non-citizen is already living in the U.S. illegally. The court could also deem you inadmissible if you had traveled out of the country and bar you from re-entering. Additionally, a conviction could hinder your ability to become a U.S. citizen through naturalization.

A Conviction’s Effect on Your Gun Rights

If you are convicted of a felony child neglect charge, you will lose your right to own or possess firearms. This is because California law prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from possessing, purchasing, or owning a gun. This restriction is permanent unless you successfully petition the court to restore your gun rights.

However, a conviction for misdemeanor child neglect will not affect your gun rights.

Do Child Protective Services Have Authority to Remove a Neglected Minor?

Child Protective Services (CPS) can remove a neglected child from your care if they believe the child is in immediate danger. Your child is in immediate danger if you neglect them and do not provide them with food, shelter, medical care, and clothing.

CPS investigates reports of neglect and assesses your child's safety. If they find evidence of neglect, they have the authority to:

  • Remove the Child. They could temporarily place your child in foster care or with a relative. However, before removing your child from your home, CPS will provide support so the minor can stay in your home.

  • Create a Safety Plan. The CPS will develop a plan to address the issues and ensure the child's safety while still in your care.

  • If it is determined that your child is still not safe despite the interventions, the CPS will file a dependency petition. They can petition the juvenile court to declare your child a dependent of the court, which can lead to longer-term removal or supervised visits.

Limitations in Penal Code 270 Violation Cases

If aggravated factors are present, you could face felony PC 270 violation charges. However, this is not common. You cannot attract a felony conviction if you are a first-time offender in a child neglect case. This is per Equal Protection law under the United States Constitution.

A court in California, after some observations, concluded that if they sentenced men to harsh felony penalties, it could discourage them from admitting paternity to their children. They also observed that felony convictions led to men paying child support unfairly or wrongly after being declared fathers in court. They did this to avoid being charged with child neglect if they failed to provide for the minor.

Defenses to PC 270 Violation Charges

Some common defenses to child neglect include the following:

False Accusations

Child neglect allegations often stem from misunderstandings, jealousy, revenge, or disputes with ex-spouses or partners. Your spouse could accuse you falsely to gain favor during divorce proceedings. For example, one parent may want the other to provide child support and will ensure that the court rules in their favor by accusing you of not providing your child's basic needs.

Mistake of Facts or Wrong Observations

You can sometimes be charged for child neglect, even if you are not at fault. Doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, the clergy, and school administrators act as authorized reporters in California.

Authorized reporters are mandated by the Child Abuse and Neglect Act to report incidents of PC 270 violation. If they observe an incident of neglect and do not report it, they could be arrested for misdemeanor charges. Hence, they report any slight sign of PC 270 violation they observe.

An authorized reporter may make a wrong observation, leading to your arrest. Sometimes, what appears to be neglect may be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of a situation. For example, your child might appear to be unsupervised when, in fact, you have placed them under appropriate care.

You Do Not Have Any Parental Responsibility For The Minor

You cannot be held responsible for child neglect under Penal Code 270 if you are not legally recognized as the minor's parent or guardian. This applies if you have no biological, adoptive, or legal connection to the minor and have not assumed parental responsibilities.

You could argue that you have no parental responsibility if the minor’s conception was through the artificial insemination procedure and you had not given consent in writing. You also do not have parental responsibility if another person lawfully adopts the minor. Also, if the mother gave birth to the minor while they were married previously, you can argue that you do not have any parental responsibility to that child.

Your lawyer could present court records, medical records, or legal documents to support your claim of not having any parental responsibility for the minor.

Your Actions were not Willful or Made on Purpose

To be convicted under PC 270, the prosecution must prove without a reasonable doubt that you willfully neglected your child. Purposefully failing to meet your child’s needs means you had full knowledge and acted willingly.

For example, Peter buys a new iPhone for his girlfriend and fails to provide medical care for his sick daughter. Here, Peter has been unable to put his daughter as his number one priority and, therefore, is guilty of child neglect.

However, your case could be dismissed if you show that neglect was unintentional. This might involve demonstrating that you were unaware of the neglectful situation or that circumstances beyond your control prevented you from providing the necessary care.

For example, if you hire a skilled babysitter to babysit but, unfortunately, they sleep on the job, and your asthmatic son gets an attack, is not able to get quick relief, and falls unconscious, you should not be arrested. Here, your actions were not to neglect your child. Instead, your babysitter let you down.

Your defense lawyer could present CCTV footage, text messages of efforts to secure assistance, and medical records to the court to convince the judge that you were unaware of the neglect and did not act intentionally.

You Had A Lawful Excuse For Not Seeking Conventional Healthcare For The Minor

You could be lawfully excused from taking your child to seek conventional healthcare due to religious beliefs. California law allows certain exemptions if you choose spiritual healing practices recognized by your religion instead of conventional medical treatment.

You must provide evidence of your religious practices and how they align with your care decisions. This might include testimonies from religious leaders, church records, or documentation of recognized spiritual healing practices.

You cannot be arrested for seeking religious healing if your child’s health is not critical. However, if your child's condition is deteriorating or they are dying, you must seek conventional medical assistance. Failure to do this could result in your arraignment in court for child neglect.

You Lacked The Financial Capability To Meet The Physical Necessities Of Your Child

If you genuinely lack the financial means to provide for your child's necessities despite making reasonable efforts, your lawyer could help support your case by presenting your attempts to seek help. These efforts include applying for public assistance, contacting charities, or asking for support from family and friends.

You want to show that the neglect was due to circumstances beyond your control rather than willful disregard for your child's needs.

For example, if critically ill, the law may legally excuse you from meeting your child’s physical necessities personally. You could also have a lawful excuse if your salary is too low, and despite making efforts to increase it, you still do not have enough to meet all your child’s needs.

Evidence such as your applications for aid, correspondence with support organizations, and testimonies from those aware of your situation could help build a strong defense.

Expungement of a PC 270 Conviction

You could have a PC 270 violation conviction removed or expunged from your criminal record. Having an offense expunged from your criminal record means the conviction is dismissed or removed from the public registry. Therefore, potential employers or property owners cannot see that you had a prior conviction when they look up in a public registry. This could improve your opportunities for employment, housing, and other aspects of life.

To qualify for expungement, you must:

  • Complete the terms of your probation without violations.

  • Serve any jail time or complete any required probation programs.

  • Ensure that there are no new or pending criminal charges against you.

Once these conditions are met, you can petition the court to have your conviction expunged. The court will review your case, and your conviction will be dismissed if granted. You can now legally state that you have not been convicted of that offense.

However, if convicted of felony child neglect, you do not qualify for the expungement of your conviction. This is because, under California law, felons cannot have their conviction removed from their criminal record.

Related offenses

Some offenses related to child neglect include the following:

PC 273d: Child Abuse

Child abuse, per PC 273d, involves willfully inflicting cruel or inhuman physical injury or punishment on a child, resulting in a traumatic condition. Unlike child neglect, which focuses on failure to provide, child abuse addresses direct harm to the child. Penalties can be severe, including 2, 4, or 6 years imprisonment for felony convictions.

PC 273a: Child Endangerment

Child endangerment, as defined by Penal Code 273a, occurs when you willfully cause or permit your child to be placed in a situation where their health is endangered. Unlike child neglect, PC 273a covers a broader range of behaviors, including both acts and failures to act that could result in harm.

Depending on the circumstances, child endangerment can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor, with penalties ranging from 1 year in jail to six years in prison.

Penal Code 270.1a: Failure to Supervise Minor’s School Attendance

Under Penal Code 270.1a, you can be charged with failing to supervise your child’s school attendance. You are at fault for not ensuring your child attends school regularly. Penalties for this crime can include fines of up to $2000 and jail time of up to one year.

Find a Child Neglect Defense Attorney Near Me

You want to secure the right legal representation if you are facing child neglect charges. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you build solid defenses and protect your rights.

At Monterey Criminal Attorney, we understand the impact these charges can have on your life and your family. We have a team of experienced lawyers ready to represent you in court and develop solid defenses for the best possible outcome for your case. Do not face these charges alone. Call us today at 831-574-1791 so that we can start working on your case.