Penal Code 270 PC: California Child Neglect Laws and Penalties

California Penal Code 270 makes it a crime for a parent to willfully fail, without lawful excuse, to provide a minor child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or other remedial care. A first violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The same conduct becomes a felony, punishable by up to one year and one day in state prison, when a court has already made a final determination that the person is the child’s parent and the parent has notice of that ruling.¹

What a Parent Must Provide

The statute lists five categories: food, clothing, shelter, medical attendance, and other remedial care.¹ Shelter means a safe, habitable environment appropriate for a child. Clothing must suit the child’s age and the weather. Food must meet the child’s nutritional needs.

Medical attendance covers conventional healthcare when a child is sick or injured. The “other remedial care” language is broader, and the statute specifically recognizes treatment through prayer by an accredited practitioner of a recognized church or religious denomination as a form of remedial care. That recognition has practical limits when a child’s condition is life-threatening.

Who the Law Applies To

Penal Code 270 reaches every biological parent of a minor child. The statute applies “whether the parents of such child are or were ever married or divorced.”¹ Mothers and fathers carry the duty equally. A formal court order or a name on the birth certificate is not required for the obligation to exist.

The law also reaches fathers before a child is born. The statute treats “a child conceived but not yet born” as an existing person for support purposes, so a father can face liability for failing to provide support during pregnancy.

When the Failure Is “Willful”

Not every missed payment is a crime. The failure to provide must be willful and without lawful excuse. The prosecution must show the parent deliberately chose not to provide for the child despite having the ability or opportunity to do so. A parent who genuinely cannot find work despite a diligent search, or who is physically unable to earn income because of serious illness, has a potential defense.

The statute does make it easier for prosecutors in one common scenario. If a parent abandons or deserts a child, or simply stops providing necessities, that conduct is treated as prima facie evidence that the failure was willful and without lawful excuse.¹ The burden effectively shifts to the parent to explain why support stopped.

How Courts Measure Ability to Pay

When deciding whether a parent could have paid, the court looks at every source of money coming in. The statute requires judges to consider “all income, including social insurance benefits and gifts.”¹ Disability payments, unemployment benefits, and monetary gifts from family all count. A parent cannot claim inability to pay while living on regular financial help from a partner or relative.

Staying unemployed or underemployed on purpose to avoid support is a weak position. Courts routinely attribute earning capacity to a parent who is physically capable of working but chooses not to. What the parent could reasonably earn carries as much weight as what they actually brought in.

Misdemeanor Penalties

A standard Penal Code 270 violation is charged as a misdemeanor. The maximum punishment is one year in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.¹ Many first-time offenders receive probation rather than jail, with sentencing conditions aimed at future compliance, such as maintaining employment and making regular support payments.

When It Becomes a Felony

The same conduct can be prosecuted as a felony in one specific circumstance: when a court has already made a final determination that the person is the child’s parent, and that person has notice of the ruling. A parent who then still willfully refuses to provide support faces up to one year and one day in state prison, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.²

The fine amount does not change between the misdemeanor and felony versions. What changes is state prison instead of county jail, and a felony record that affects future employment, housing, and certain civil rights. The “one year and one day” prison term is a deliberate statutory choice that classifies the offense as a felony under California law.

Federal Charges in Interstate Cases

Moving to another state does not end the exposure. A parent who owes support for a child living in a different state can face federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 228. The federal statute reaches willful failure to pay support for a child in another state when the debt exceeds $5,000 or has gone unpaid for more than one year, and it reaches crossing state lines specifically to dodge a support obligation.³

Penalties scale with the conduct:

First offense (over $5,000 or unpaid more than one year): up to six months in federal prison, a fine, or both.
Repeat offense, interstate flight to avoid payment, or arrears over $10,000 or unpaid more than two years: up to two years in federal prison, a fine, or both.

Federal courts also impose mandatory restitution equal to the total unpaid support at the time of sentencing.³ A conviction does not wipe out the debt; the parent leaves court still owing every dollar.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 270 – Abandonment and Neglect of Children
2
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 270 – Abandonment and Neglect of Children
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 228 – Failure to Pay Legal Child Support Obligations