Joan is concerned about the odd cash payment and phones Ms. Tomkin to discuss it. Ms. Tomkin assures Joan that “the payment is just the way adoption work in these countries. It is not a bribe; it is not a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; it is simply a requirement to get the adoption paperwork through. Your adoption just can’t get through the system without it. This is the way we’ve been doing business for twenty years.” Joan asks, “Who is Senor Jose?” Ms. Tomkin responds, “He’s just an official in the social agency who handles adoptions. He isn’t even the judge who approves the adoption. Without this money, your little girl ends up a street or malnourished in an orphanage.”