Petty Theft, No priors

What is the name of your state? California
My wife was arrested for petty theft. She has no prior arrests. We are a large 1 income family that struggles to make ends meet. She shoplifted something from a Macy's to give to our daughter for her birthday. The value was more than $50, less than $400. She made a purchase, then placed some items into the bag without paying for them and was detained upon exiting the store. She was cooperative with the police. Please set my expectation regarding the process, and likely penalty. It would be a tremendous financial hardship to retain an attorney, will that yield a more severe penalty? What can her and I do to help minimize the penalty?

Does she have any priors ?
(a prior makes this a felony; a conviction of this will make the next theft a felony, even if she only steals a dime item).

The 'norm' for petty theft is 36 months summary probation, one day county jail - credit one day jail served (booking), and either a fine & court fees (about 400, total) or community service (usually 40 hours), court fees of about 145 and stay away from the business.

Some Prosecutors will add other terms (especially if a child was present or used in process [stroller theft]); it's rare to order jail, other than the required one day for booking & priorability of offense.

If you have a large family, she may qualify for the Public Defender.
This conviction impacts on future employability.