Pen. Code, § 270 · Chapter 2. Abandonment and Neglect of Children
Pen. Code, § 270
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
If a parent of a minor child willfully omits, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary clothing, food, shelter or medical attendance, or other remedial care for his or her child, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. If a court of competent jurisdiction has made a final adjudication in either a civil or a criminal action that a person is the parent of a minor child and the person has notice of such adjudication and he or she then willfully omits, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary clothing, food, shelter, medical attendance or other remedial care for his or her child, this conduct is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year or in a state prison for a determinate term of one year and one day, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment. This statute shall not be construed so as to relieve such parent from the criminal liability defined herein for such omission merely because the other parent of such child is legally entitled to the custody of such child nor because the other parent of such child or any other person or organization voluntarily or involuntarily furnishes such necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical attendance or other remedial care for such child or undertakes to do so.
Proof of abandonment or desertion of a child by such parent, or the omission by such parent to furnish necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical attendance or other remedial care for his or her child is prima facie evidence that such abandonment or desertion or omission to furnish necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical attendance or other remedial care is willful and without lawful excuse.
The court, in determining the ability of the parent to support his or her child, shall consider all income, including social insurance benefits and gifts.
The provisions of this section are applicable whether the parents of such child are or were ever married or divorced, and regardless of any decree made in any divorce action relative to alimony or to the support of the child. A child conceived but not yet born is to be deemed an existing person insofar as this section is concerned.
The husband of a woman who bears a child as a result of artificial insemination shall be considered the father of that child for the purpose of this section, if he consented in writing to the artificial insemination.
If a parent provides a minor with treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination, by a duly accredited practitioner thereof, such treatment shall constitute “other remedial care”, as used in this section.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1432, Sec. 1.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=270.
- Text hash
- sha256 7758a998323e64fccd36f9761a0758cee8099368c3159dead757918c5ecfc703
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 17 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 270. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Evidence Code
Family Code
Government Code
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 270bPrinted as Section 270 or 270a
- Pen. Code, § 270dPrinted as Section 270
- Pen. Code, § 270ePrinted as Section 270 | Section 270a or 270 of this code
- Pen. Code, § 270hPrinted as Section 270 or 270a
- Pen. Code, § 271.5Printed as Section 270, 270.5, 271, or 271a
- Pen. Code, § 273cPrinted as Sections 270, 271, 271a, 273a, and 273b
- Pen. Code, § 777aPrinted as Section 270 of this code
- Pen. Code, § 830.35Printed as Section 270
- Pen. Code, § 4104Printed as Section 270
Welfare and Institutions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.