If you leave your young child unattended in your car you can expect to be prosecuted for child endangerment (PC 273a) and have your child taken from you by children services.
You might think it is okay to leave your sleeping toddler in your car with the air conditioning running while you leave for “just a few minutes” to pick up your prescription or a package of much needed diapers. Think again.
Recently our law firm has represented several very good parents who made very poor decisions that led to them being prosecuted for child endangerment and having their children placed in foster care.
In one case our client, who is a nurse, was in her car with her 3 year old and an infant with a 103 temperature. She left her 3 year old in his car seat and ran in to the pharmacy to get medicine for her baby which she carried into the store. She swears she was only gone 5 minutes. However, in the meantime someone from the store saw the child in the car and called the police and when the mom returned to the car her child was already in a police car. The social workers arrived ten minutes later and before our client knew what was going on her two kids were taken to a shelter for abused children. The police then arrested our client for child endangerment.
In another similar case our client was with his five year old and he stopped at the Orange County Fairgrounds where he was asked to fix a display. He drove his car to as close to the display as he could get (about 100 yards away) and left his five year old in the running car with the air conditioning on. He went back to the car in five minutes to check on the child and then returned to the display a second time for about ten minutes. Before he could return to the car, security from the fair had spotted his son and called the police. Our client had his child taken to Orangewood children’s home and he was arrested for felony child endangerment.
What might seem like the “best choice” to you is not considered a “legal option” by law enforcement or social workers. No matter how “easy” it sounds to quickly pick up the milk or baby formula or any other item while leaving your young child unattended in your car DO NOT DO IT.
In 2011 being a parent can be a very tough job. The demands of a young child never seem to end. However, before taking any action that involves your child, ask yourself, “is this really the best option for my child”. If you stop to ask that question you can avoid some major hassles.
If you have had your child taken away from you by Child Protective Services, it is imperative that you hire a child dependency attorney like the ones at Wallin and Klarich. Our Southern California family law attorneys have been helping people with child dependency matters and other family law issues for over 30 years. Contact us today at 1-888-749-7428 and speak to an attorney today.
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