Is it appropriate to make a donation to an adoption agency during the home study visit?

Recently I read on a google group for adoption someone asking if it is appropriate for an adoption agency that is doing a home study report to ask for a donation and how should they proceed.  This blogpost analyses it.

First, let's understand how the legal procedure to adopt a child works and then we'll come to the question of donation.  

1. Prospective adoptive parents (PAP's) register themselves on Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) web site.  When they do that, they state one of their many preferences such as where they would like to receive their child from.  For example, they could say 'whole India' and in which case, child could be referred from any corner of India.
2. Then, the PAP's call the nearest Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA) preferably in the same district, to do the Home Study Report (HSR).  For doing the HSR, PAP's are required to make a payment of Rs. 6000/- to the SAA that is doing it.

Here one has to keep in mind that the SAA that is doing the HSR and the SAA that would be referring your prospective child could be two different entities from two different regions of India.  One would be too naive to choose a preference of one district in the entire country in which case the SAA doing the HSR and SAA that would refer a child could be the same.

Most of the adoptive parents would like to make a donation to the SAA that had taken care of their child but probability of the same SAA doing both are very minimal and hence if you make a donation during HSR, you might end up making a second donation also to the agency that took care of your child.

But what does CARA say about donations?  In their recent regulations governing adoptions (2017), sub-rule (3) of rule 46 says the following:

The Specialised Adoption Agency is not permitted to accept any donation in cash or kind, directly or indirectly, from the prospective adoptive parents for adoption of a child.

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Here, I read this rule with much higher expectation being placed on the adoption agency.  Rule doesn't say not to ask but 'not permitted to accept' in which case, even if they don't ask and if the donation offer is made, they ought to refuse.  

So, my suggestion is not to offer any donation to the SAA that is doing HSR other than prescribed Rs. 6000/- as a fee but if in case they (SAA that is doing HSR) openly ask, you ought to report such an incident to CARA immediately.  When you don't report, you become part of perpetuation of problem (role of money in adoptions).  

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