9 Nov 2010

CYF checking family of abandoned toddler

8:45 pm on 9 November 2010

Child, Youth and Family (CYF) says it will further scrutinise the family of a two-year-old girl who was found unattended outside a fast-food outlet in South Auckland.

Police found the toddler standing outside McDonalds in Otara on Saturday wearing a nappy and singlet.

They say her mother contacted them on Monday evening, more than two days after they'd found her.

CYF says the child remains in its care and it's still talking with her family. The girl's siblings remain in her family's care, it says, but it will carry out assessments to see if they are safe.

It says it has previously been involved with a sister of the toddler.

Police have interviewed the girl's mother and another relative but say it is too early to say if criminal charges will be laid.