I have a misdemeanor now

Nurses Criminal

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Hello all. I've been a cna in California for the past 18 years. It's almost time to renew my certificate again and I'm losing sleep every night, worrying over whether or not I will be able to renew. Ihave been arrested for the first time in my life since my last renewal. It had nothing to do with my job or patient care. I was arrested for child endangerment because I left my children in the care of a family member while I was working and that family member decided to run an errand and left my kids in the care of my oldest child who was 14 at the time and they never returned. My kids were never harmed or physically abused and I did not lose custody. I had to do a year of parenting classes and I've worked a handful of Nursing Jobs since the incident. Even so my confidence has taken a severe beating and I hate having to explain this to employers. I plan on having this expunged as soon as my probation period is up next year but my cna renewal is due this summer and this will be the first time I'll have to check the box where it asks about convictions. I'm completely terrified and worried that my renewal will be denied. I would appreciate any thoughts and advice. TIA.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Wow, they must be really strict in California. I live in Oregon and hospitals offer Super Sitter classes for kids 11 and up. Not that I think most 11-year-olds are mature enough to babysit, but I'm not sure why you were arrested for child endangerment; a 14-year-old is certainly old enough to look after their younger siblings for a few hours. Maybe there's more to the story than you've shared with us...?

At any rate, you do have to be honest with the Board of Nursing, although I really don't think they'll hold up your renewal for a misdemeanor of this nature. You weren't involved in any violence or theft, which are crimes that can cost a CNA her/his certification. Do your probation and don't worry too much. I'm sure you'll be fine.

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There has to be more to this. A 14 year old is more than capable of watching children. I started babysitting at 11.

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Wow, they must be really strict in California. I live in Oregon and hospitals offer Super Sitter classes for kids 11 and up. Not that I think most 11-year-olds are mature enough to babysit, but I'm not sure why you were arrested for child endangerment; a 14-year-old is certainly old enough to look after their younger siblings for a few hours. Maybe there's more to the story than you've shared with us...?

At any rate, you do have to be honest with the Board of Nursing, although I really don't think they'll hold up your renewal for a misdemeanor of this nature. You weren't involved in any violence or theft, which are crimes that can cost a CNA her/his certification. Do your probation and don't worry too much. I'm sure you'll be fine.

I think the part where the family member "never returned" might have something to do with it. "Never" as in how long? And what sort of known history did this relative have? It might have been negligent to leave the children with the relative to start out with- even if they hadn't taken off and "never" returned.

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My 14 year old son fabricated a story to law enforcement. He claimed that I had been gone for days and that my brother never was there. My second to oldest child was 10 at the time and did not speak to the police before I went to jail but later told child protective services that my son was lying and my brother was there. I was told when I got arrested that I was n trouble for leaving my kids with a reckless person. I came home to speak to the police from work and I was in my scrubs. I was receiving free childcare from a govt program for low income families but my sitter was out on vacation which is why my brother offered to watch them so I wouldn't have to miss work. My son and I had a difficult relationship for a very long time. He was very angry and hurt that I divorced his dad and put him in jail for spouse abuse. My son has admitted to me that he lied about what happened because he wanted me to know what it felt like to be back stabbed by family. My son has said he will talk to someone about telling the truth now and I'm looking into where I can go to do that. I was told by an employment development social worker that even if the charges are dropped this may still follow me and prevent renewal of my certificate or furthering my career in nursing.

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My brother said he was only gone about two hours and he has been in jail before, maybe this is why?

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

That makes more sense. Thank you for clearing that up. I still think you'll be all right...just be honest when you renew and be prepared to explain all of it to the BON.

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All due respect; there is something fishy about the details of this story.

If you left your children in the care of an adult and that adult turned out to be negligent, the state isn't going to charge YOU.

So, this begs the question about just who you left the children with in the first place.

At some point you just have to stop worrying. All that worrying isn't going to change what the State Board of Nursing does. Just go along with whatever it is they say you should do, classes, probation ect...and get on with your life.

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