Parental responsibility to provide for and care for children is paramount. The law is strict on parents or guardians who fail to provide the necessities a child requires for survival. Child neglect is a highly punishable offense under the law, attracting lengthy jail or prison time and a hefty court fine for those convicted. A conviction is also life-changing, impacting your life even years after serving your punishment. It helps to engage the assistance and support of a skilled criminal lawyer if you face child neglect charges in Bakersfield today. An experienced lawyer will study the details of your case to discuss its legal implications and your options. We will also gather reliable evidence and present a strong defense during your California Criminal Lawyer Group trial. Through our experience, we could change the outcome of your situation.

The Legal Meaning of Child Neglect

Human beings require specific necessities for survival, including food, shelter, and clothing. Since children cannot care for themselves, their parents, guardians, or caregivers are responsible for their necessities. When this does not happen, the responsible adult can face child neglect charges and a life-changing conviction.

The law against child neglect is under Penal Code 270. It applies to parents who fail to provide their children necessities like food, medical care, clothes, remedial care, and shelter without a valid excuse. The offense can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the details of your case. But for the court to find you guilty under this law, the prosecutor must prove the following elements:

  • That you are the child’s parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver.
  • You knowingly failed to provide the necessities the child requires for survival.
  • You do not have a lawful excuse for your failure to provide.

Let us examine some of these elements in greater detail to better understand the legal meaning of this offense:

A child

Child neglect laws protect children and minors. A child is any individual below the age of 18. The law considers children incapable of providing for or defending themselves. That is why adults are charged with those responsibilities.

A Child’s Basic Necessities

Necessities are the needs a child requires for survival. The child requires these necessities on a day-to-day basis, and they include:

  • Food.
  • Clothes.
  • Shelter.
  • Remedial care.
  • Medical care.

Everyone requires food to fuel their bodily functions. It is difficult for a child to live without food. Parents, caregivers, and guardians should ensure a child is well fed. The food should be healthy, nutritious, and adequate.

A child should be well-clothed as well. Clothing covers a child’s nakedness and protects their body from the cold. A child should have enough appropriate clothes for all seasons, for example, warm clothes for the winter and light clothes for the summer. Failing to provide heavy clothes for a child during the winter could result in child neglect charges.

Children also require a safe and conducive place to live. The shelter should not be spacious and well-furnished but should meet all safety standards. For example, it should be clean, well-lit, and well-equipped with the child's requirements, like a place to sleep and a bathroom.

If a child is ill, they require medical care and treatment. A parent should not keep a sick child at home without seeking medical care. If the patient does not believe that conventional medicine works, they can obtain remedial care for the ill child, including prayers and spiritual treatment. But they should only provide remedial care through a specialist from a popular church or religious denomination.

If the child’s condition does not improve with remedial care, or they are critically ill, the parent can face child neglect charges if they continue to keep them at home without medical supervision. The parent can also face child endangerment charges for putting the child in a situation where their life or general well-being is in danger. If the ill child loses their life, the parent can even face graver charges of involuntary manslaughter.

A Parent, Caregiver, or Guardian

Child neglect charges apply to adults with direct responsibility for children. You can be a child’s biological parent in several ways, including the following:

  • You stay with or are married to the child’s mother.
  • Your wife bore a child, and you are not impotent or sterile.
  • The child was born through artificial insemination while you were living with or married to their mother, and you had consented to the AI in writing.

However, you will not be considered a child’s biological parent if your wife contested your paternity at least two years after the minor’s birth and the judge established that you are not the child’s biological father.

  • You had a child with your ex-partner, even if you do not have custody rights. This applies even if you have not seen your child since birth.

However, that will not apply if you legally surrendered your child, you gave it up for adoption, or the court declared the child abandoned. Another person took up the responsibility.

  • You were in a relationship with the child’s mother but did not marry her. You do not have to be married to or date your child’s mother to be considered the child’s parent. Even a brief relationship can result in parental responsibility.
  • You have adopted or are the child's legal parent through a court order.

If the law considers you a child’s parent, you are legally required to provide the necessities they need for survival.

Note: PC 270 also applies to an unborn child. Parents of an unborn child must provide the necessities the child requires even before birth.

Failing to Provide Willfully and Without Lawful Explanation

You willfully fail to provide if your acts or omissions are deliberate. A deliberate act is different from a negligent or reckless act.

The prosecutor must also prove that you did not have a lawful explanation for why you could not provide your child’s necessities. If you cannot meet your child's needs financially, you must demonstrate that your failure to provide is not your fault.

For example, if you lost your job and are actively looking for another, you could have a valid excuse for not providing what your child needs. But you could be guilty of child neglect if you have a job and are still not fulfilling your child’s needs.

You also have a valid excuse not to provide for your child if you do not make enough money. But you must demonstrate that you do your best with your little earnings.

The judge could be considerate if you prove that you do not have the income or assets to cater to your child’s needs. It could be that you are jobless or recently lost your job and do not have alternative means to cater to your child’s needs.

Here are examples of instances when you could be liable for failing to provide your child’s necessities:

  • If you are unemployed and are not making any efforts to find employment,
  • If you deliberately spend your earnings on luxuries and less-important things, you cannot provide for your child’s necessities.

Note: The law assumes you do not have a valid explanation for failing to care for your child. In that case, the burden of proof lies with you to demonstrate that your failure to provide is not a fault of your own.

PC 270 requires parents to make their children’s necessities a priority. Other needs and wants should come after your child is well provided for. You will still face criminal charges even if the other child’s parent, another person, or an institution like a church or food bank offers to support your child’s needs.

Even though child neglect is different from emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, maltreatment, and domestic abuse, it can negatively impact a child’s well-being and gravely harm the mental health and welfare of the child. Emotional support and supervision are part of a child’s necessities. When family members mistreat a child, they risk suffering from mental illness, drug abuse problems, and other impairments.

The Penalties for a Conviction Under PC 270

Child neglect charges can result in criminal and administrative penalties. As a criminal offense, a violation of PC 270 is mainly a misdemeanor, punishable by the following:

  • Misdemeanor probation.
  • Jail time for one year.
  • A court fine of $2,000.

Only in rare cases will the prosecutor file felony charges in a child neglect case. That could happen when you fail to cater to your child’s necessities even after a court order declares you the child’s parent. That could occur in the following instances:

  • In a paternity case, a judge declares that you are a child’s father.
  • You still fail to provide the child’s necessities after that declaration.

If the court finds you guilty of a felony offense under this statute, you will likely receive the following penalties:

  • A maximum of one year in jail.
  • One year plus one in prison.
  • A maximum court fine of $2,000.

Misdemeanor Probation

The judge can send you on probation for one to three years instead of jail. When that happens, you will serve your entire sentence without incarceration. But you will be on strict probation conditions that you must abide by throughout your probation. Examples of these conditions include the following:

  • Not committing any crime while out on probation.
  • Submitting period reports to the judge about your performance on probation.
  • Finding a job and providing your child’s necessities.
  • Treatment and rehabilitation if you have a condition that caused you to commit the crime, like drug and alcohol abuse.

You must not violate any probation conditions the judge sets during sentencing. If that happens, the judge could give you stricter requirements, revoke your probation, and send you to jail for the required period.

Other Consequences of a Conviction for Child Neglect

A criminal conviction will always have a significant impact on your life. Besides the penalties you receive during sentencing, a conviction leaves you with a criminal record that could affect various aspects of your life. For example, people find it hard to associate with and make friends with ex-convicts. Your social life can be significantly impacted even after you complete your sentence.

Also, people who conduct background checks, like employers and landlords, can base their decisions regarding you on what they find. A potential employer can deny you a job because of your criminal record. A landlord can refuse to rent or lease you for the same reason.

A criminal conviction will also impact your rights, like gun rights. An adult in California can obtain a license to purchase or own a firearm. But you lose that right once you have a felony conviction. Without your gun rights, you cannot keep or use a firearm for some time or for life.

Expunging Your Criminal Record

The negative impact of a criminal conviction can affect your life for a very long time. Since a criminal conviction remains on your record for life, it will continue to impact your life. But the law allows you to file for expungement to eliminate the negative impact and disabilities of a criminal conviction. You can do so in the same court where you were sentenced.

But you must wait until you complete your sentence to file for the expungement of your criminal record. You must also not be on probation or serving a sentence for another crime. If you have multiple convictions on your criminal record, you can only file for expungement for one case at a time. You must specify in your request the sentence for which you seek expungement.

Once the judge receives your petition, they will hold a hearing to determine your case. During the hearing, they will review your case and consider how well you performed during probation before making a decision. The judge could grant your petition if you did not violate your probation and are not on probation for another crime. If they do, that criminal conviction will be removed from your record. It will no longer appear during background checks, so no one will know about the sentence unless you disclose it to them.

Defending Yourself Against Child Neglect Charges

Child neglect charges can result in life-altering consequences if the court finds you guilty during the trial. That is why you must find a way to defend yourself against the charges and have the judge dismiss or reduce them. That could work if you have an experienced criminal defense lawyer on our defense team. Your attorney will use their skills and experience to deliver a fair outcome for your case. They can also use one or more of the best legal defense strategies to compel the judge to reconsider your charges. Here are some of the best defense strategies that could help your case:

You Did Not Act Willfully

A child neglect conviction requires you to act willfully by failing to provide your child’s necessities. If you prove to the court that you did not act willfully, the judge could dismiss your charges. You could have lost your job and could no longer afford everything your child needed.

Remember that the prosecutor will assume that your failure to provide is willful. You have the burden of proving that it was only an accident. If you lost your job and are actively looking for another, the judge will not hold you responsible for failing to provide for your child.

You Have a Legal Excuse

Also, remember that you are only guilty of failing to provide for your child and have no legal excuse. In this case, a lawful reason means a justification for your actions or omissions. For example, if you work and earn an income, you are expected to cater to your child’s necessities. But you could fail to provide all your child’s needs if you have an urgent matter like a medical bill you must clear within a given deadline. You can use that as a legal excuse to explain to the court why you cannot provide for your child.

A sudden job loss could also be accepted as a legal excuse as to why you are not providing for your child. But if you are jobless, you must demonstrate your efforts to find a job for the judge to dismiss your charges.

The Accusations are False

Facing false accusations for severe charges like child neglect is not unusual. Your child can falsely accuse you of neglect out of vengeance. Or, like an aggrieved ex-partner, someone can use your child to lodge false accusations against you for revenge or to punish you for something you did or failed to do. An experienced criminal lawyer must have encountered a similar case before. Thus, they will know the strategies to ensure the court understands what is happening and the judge acquits your charges. If you believe someone else is falsely accusing you of child neglect, discussing it at length with your attorney is essential.

You Are Not The Child’s Parent

If you are not the child’s parent, you are not guilty of not providing their necessities. But you must demonstrate this in court for the judge to dismiss your charges. It could be that the child was born when its mother was legally married or living with another man. That other man is legally considered the child’s father in that case. You are also not a child’s parent if someone else adopts the minor. You could also argue that even if the child was conceived through AI (artificial insemination), you did not consent.

If the judge accepts your defense and rules that you are not the child’s parent, they will dismiss your charges.

Mistake of Facts

The law mandates certain people who work closely and directly with children to report suspected neglect and abuse cases. Failure to report could result in criminal charges. Those required to file such reports include nurses, social workers, teachers, the clergy, doctors, and school administrators.

One of these people could have mistakenly assumed that our child was not well provided for and called the police. In that case, you can fight your charges by demonstrating that all your child’s needs are well-catered for.

Child Neglect and Related Offenses

Child neglect is closely related to some statutes under the law that the prosecutor can charge alongside or in place of child neglect. These statutes are:

Child Abuse

Under PC 273d, child abuse occurs when you physically injure or impose cruel punishment on a child. Child abuse entails leaving a child with a traumatic condition, like a physical injury. It also requires you to have acted willfully. Several actions constitute child abuse if acted upon by a child, like hitting, slapping, shaking, burning, and choking. The offense is mainly a wobbler, meaning that the prosecutor can charge it as a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the details of the case.

A misdemeanor is punishable by one year in jail, while a felony is punishable by six years.

Child Endangerment

Under PC 273(a), child endangerment occurs when you place a child in a situation where they will likely suffer harm. You are guilty under this law if you expose a child to unjustifiable danger, pain, or suffering. The law punishes the possible damage the child could suffer in the harmful condition in which you place them. It differs from child neglect in that the latter punishes the actual harm a child suffers when their parents fail to provide their necessities.

Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me

A child neglect charge can result in grave consequences if you do not take action right after your arrest to prepare for defense. You could spend time in jail, pay a hefty fine, and suffer other life-changing consequences that result from a criminal conviction. But you can change the outcome of our situation if you hire a skilled criminal defense lawyer. We take all our client’s cases seriously at California Criminal Lawyer Group. We study your case closely before advising you on your options and planning your defense.

We aim to fight aggressively for the most favorable outcome in every case. Thus, you can count on our support if you face child neglect charges in Bakersfield. Call us at 661-750-8230 for more information about our services.