Well, that depends on how responsible YOU feel like being about being honest to people about who this is. If you intentionally distort what this is, who it's for, and how it's distributed, then yes, people are going to take it as a negative message - as per your manipulative intentions.
But if you tell them the truth, it will make sense to people. In effect, families are getting a settlement out of court for something they could actually sue the government for. And most people understand that and will be happy to leave it there.