Will Getting Caught Stealing Affect Voc Rehab Benefits

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Utah
Ok, here goes:
Long story short, a few days before thanksgiving I went to wal-mart. The store was so crowded that I got it in my head that I could take stuff and "get away with it". I'm 19 and in college for social work.
LP caught me right outside the first doors by where you return carts. At this pount I'm freaking out(I had never even thought about doing something like this!) the cops were called and they issued a citation for "retail theft" and was issued a court date. All of their merchandise was returned to them and I was cooperative. ( merchandise equaled $36.97)Since this time I have hired a lawyer and paid my civil demand. My lawyer informed me that the city this happened in usually doesn't do plea in abeyances due to the mall here. He entered a not guilty for me and is working to get this reduced.
But it's not easing me at all! My questions are:
1. Right now I receive help paying for college through Vocational rehab due to blindness. I have not discussed this with her yet, but will they terminate my services due to this charge?
2. If I am able to get a plea in abeyance, and it later get expunged, will I be able to license as a social worker in Utah? That is my major right now, and I need to know before I go through school just to be rejected.
3. I read somewhere( and this is just a shot in the dark) that if your civil demand is paid before your court date, it can petition to get your case dismissed, is this true? That no loss=no case?
4. The only papers I signed was for my citation, to be able to use my picture, and for civil demand, I was not trespassed from the store, is it safe to go back?
5. I have never been in trouble with the law, and the only court I have ever been through was for an abuse case against me. Does this affect my case at all?
*i will do whatever it takes to save my future and my dream of helping. Any advise Cheops. I really am a good person, I made one stupid mistake(good people do not steal, I know that, but the difference between me and a lot of people is that I was caught, most aren't)

1. You need to tell your case worker as it will affect any job placement assistance.
2. You need to research Expungment in Utah. Some states require a certain number of years to pass before you can apply; others do not allow it at all. And you will not be working a Government job with a criminal record.
3. Not true at all.
4. Call the store and ask.
5. No.

Thank you for your answer. You said I wouldn't be able to work government jobs, is that true with it being expunged and being my only criminal activity ever?

Government background checks run very deep.

As it is...it looks like you have to wait atleast 3 years from Conviction date/end of any probation to even be able to qualify for Expungment. http://www.utcourts.gov/howto/expunge/

Honey, I shoplifted almost 5 years ago. In late April, I will finally qualify for Expungment in Michigan. I have been turned down by Employment agencies for $9.00/hour Data Entry positions.

The Expungment process here can take 6 months to be completed.

Expungment does not remove a conviction (or arrest) from your record; it only limits who can see it.

Government agencies can see them even after expungments.

Thank you both for your answers. I am still in school so it will be a few years before I need to worry about government jobs( I'm still scared to death and have been beating myself up over my sheer stupidity since this happened.) hopefully my lawyer will be able to work something put for me that's not of "moral turptitude"

Honey, I hate to say this....but a background check by the Government is going to turn up your record, no matter what.

Mine reads this:
CHARGE: Retail Fraud, 3rd degree.
DISPOSITION: Disorderly Person.

Guess what? Job applications ask for both the original charge and the final disposition. Background checks - ESPECIALLY FOR A GOVERNMENT JOB - are going to show the original charge as well.

You need to speak to your vocational counselor; and you need to find a career goal that will not require a complete and thorough background check. Because right now - you won't even be able to work many retail jobs. You will never work in a bank, or other financial institution. Until expungment, you will not be working around the Vulnerable Population - including blind people or senior citizens, you will not be serving meals in a Senior Center, you won't even be wiping a senior citizens ass. Seriously, Federal laws prohibit you from even working with disabled/elderly people (as a worker; you can work in a McD's with seniors, you just won't be working in a Senior Center, just to clarify).

I don't mean to sound harsh, but I am telling you the reality. If you don't believe me, I implore you to check out job hunting sites, fill out some applications....

Thank you, I hope you realize I'm not trying to play this off as nothing and not taking your advice seriously. It is huge, and i understand. I'm trying to get what's called a plea in abeyance which is like a diversion program, and if I get that I can apply for expungement 30 days after probation(at thi point I don't know if I'll get this). If it is dismisses, will it show on a background check "dismissed?" And am I allowed to do volunteer work with children, elderly, and disabled people? And again, thank you.

There is no such thing as a single background check that will always provide the same identical information regardless.

What information will show on any given background check, including the disposition of a case, will be determined by what (and who) the employer is and what questions they ask. They are not one-size-fits-all and are not all created equal.

If you're convicted, you cannot work around the vulnerable population, including children, elderly, disabled. The way a crime of moral turpitude is seen is that you will steal from an unconscious patient in a hospital; steal from a confused elderly person...you get the idea.

You might get a First Time Offenders program, but that usually comes with a term of informal probation.

30 days AFTER PROBATION. I want to make sure you understand that a term of informal probation may be as long as two years. Then another 6 months of waiting for the paperwork, hearing, approval, notices, etc.