Are IHSS payments part of the things to be paid back to California Dept. of Health Services?

My stepson passed away at age 24 and left most of his settlement money from the car accident in his Special Needs Trust. During his lifetime, Tricare was his primary insurance and Medi-cal as secondary; Medical was hardly used since Tricare covered almost everything. When we received the recovery letter from DHCS, I'd say 95% being collected back were the IHSS (In-home Supportive Services) payments to his care givers amounting to more than $70,000. Are these supposed to be paid back even when the caregivers were the parents themselves? Is there a chance to get it waived or reconsidered?