Failure to Provide; Defined & Punished

(a) A person is guilty of failure to provide when having a spouse, child or indigent parent whom he is legally obliged to support, he knowingly fails to furnish that person with necessary support. (b) As used in this Section, support includes food, clothing, shelter, medical attention and education. (c) As used in this Section, child includes a child conceived but not yet born. SOURCE: G.P.C. §§ 270, 270a, 270c, 271a; M.P.C. § 230.5; Cal. § 986 (1971); Mass. ch. 273, §§ 1, 3 and 4; N.J. § 2C:24-5. CROSS-REFERENCES: §§ 1500-1531, Code of Civil Procedure (Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act). COMMENT: This is a replacement of all or part of the Penal Code sections on the same subject. This Section does not apply to an ex-spouse. While this Section has been used sparingly, it is beneficial when one is faced with a certain type of continual, unlawful and deliberate failure to support where the means of support are available. This statute is usually used as a last resort after civil remedies have failed.