Three young children taken from the home of a couple charged with abandoning a baby in a Toronto stairwell are all underweight and developmentally delayed, medical checkups revealed.
The two girls and a boy, all under the age of six, were taken into foster care on Wednesday of last week after their parents were arrested and charged in the January abandonment of baby Angelica-Leslie.
Peter Ringrose, the executive director of Waterloo Region's Family and Children's Services, told CTV.ca the three children were given a standard medical checkup after being taken into foster care.
"We are paying special attention to their nutrition, making sure they get lots to eat and vitamin supplements. And these kids are enjoying their food and doing well," Ringrose said.
The children, who are currently in foster care together, also appeared to be slightly developmentally delayed.
"It's not a formal diagnosis but what we have observed in relation to their language and their play is that they seem to be a bit behind what you would expect for children of their ages," Ringrose said.
Officials are attempting to stimulate the children mentally through various activities and contact with children and adults, he said.
"We're just saying we have observed they're a bit behind and we can enrich that situation."
The parents, both 30, are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for their second appearance in relation to Angelica-Leslie's abandonment. They will face charges of neglect, abandonment, abuse and failing to provide the necessities of life.
Neither the parents nor the children have been named, in order to protect their identities.
Angelica-Leslie was given her nickname by Children's Aid workers after she was found by a shopper in the stairwell of a plaza on Leslie Street in North York. The workers said the eight-month-old looked "like an angel."
More than 80 families have come forward, offering to adopt the baby.
