OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The grandparents of nine children who were given up by their father under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law say their home was always open.

Jack Manzer of Omaha told NBC's "Today" on Thursday that Gary Staton could have taken the children, ages 1 to 17, to his house.

Manzer said Staton asked for help in the past.

"We don't understand," said Manzer's wife, Joanne. "We would have liked him to come to us for help."

Instead, Staton left nine of his 10 children at Creighton University Medical Center last week under the new safe-haven law. He did not bring his oldest daughter, 18-year-old Amoria Micek.

Staton said he surrendered the children because he was overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for them since his wife died early last year.

Micek said her father was worried about losing their home.

"He was more overwhelmed and didn't know how to handle the situation," she said.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has tried to place the nine siblings with relatives until permanent custody is decided. Seven were taken in by an aunt, but a Douglas County judge on Wednesday ordered them back to foster care. She said some of the children were sharing beds while others slept on air mattresses.

The state has appealed the order, saying it's in the children's best interests to stay together with a relative.

The two oldest children chose to go to another home to avoid changing schools.

The state's safe-haven law permits caregivers to leave children at hospitals without fear of prosecution. Like laws in other states, Nebraska's was intended to protect infants. But the Nebraska law was written to include the word "child," which wasn't defined in the law.

At least 16 children, some of them teenagers, have been abandoned since the law took effect in July.

A group of state lawmakers has been discussing possible changes to the law so it's not abused by parents.

___

On the Net:

NBC's "Today": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.hhs.state.ne.us

Nebraska Legislature: http://www.unicam.state.ne.us