Our Mission

Transitions was founded to provide non-judgmental adoption services to all people, regardless of the color of their skin, background, or circumstances. We have never turned a birth mother away, no matter what her circumstances. By the same token, we work with many kinds of adoptive families including singles, married couples, and same sex couples. Before we place a baby with an adoptive family, we ask the birth parents what kind of family they feel comfortable with, and strictly follow their wishes. Finally, we are proud to say we have never turned a baby away, no matter what the health issues. For example, we have placed babies exposed to HIV and drugs, babies born with spina bifida, Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and prematurity. Be assured, we also place healthy babies for adoption. In short, we think of ourselves as an inclusive agency in every sense of the word.

Our Staff
Our experienced staff is dedicated to providing services in a respectful, caring way. Let us introduce you to the people who work here.

Debbie Fox
Founder and Director of Transitions
She has been working in the field of adoption for 20 years. She is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, the Perinatal Social Work Network, the National Association of Perinatal Social Workers, the Philadelphia and Montgomery County Bar Associations. She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Women in Transition. She was a Philadelphia Municipal Court appointed mediator. She served as a master in divorce proceedings in Philadelphia. She was a member of the working committee of the Women’s Law Project on the civil rights of families considering adoption. She has lectured on adoption issues at the Resolve Conference, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia Bar Association Bench Bar Conference, and the Montgomery County Bar Association. She has provided legal services to clients of the Senior Citizens Judicare Project, and clients of Women Against Abuse. She also spoke on the national public radio program “Radio Times” about transracial adoption. She has provided many in-services to hospitals and crisis pregnancy centers, and would be happy to do that in the future.

Whitney Huston
Birth Parent Counselor
Whitney Huston is our birth mother counselor. Her educational background is in psychology.  She has worked in women's health for many years.  Besides working for Transitions, she works with the Women's Medical Fund where she helps low-income pregnant women obtain information and financial resources.  She also has an ongoing relationship with Temple University where she is involved in a research project about female mental health issues.  Before coming to Transitions, Whitney was employed by the University of Pennsylvania where she researched how adolescents learn math and science.  In the past she has worked with the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, the Red Cross, Equality Forum, the Philadelphia Food Bank, and other volunteer and outreach groups.  She has also provided advocacy services to the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.  She is a member of the Perinatal Social Work Network.

Cathy McNally
Homestudy Consultant
Cathy McNally has master’s degrees in public health and social work. For over a decade she provided homestudy services to various adoption agencies located in North Carolina and Maryland. She was a clinical social worker at the Columbia Hospital for Women Medical Center covering both the NICU and OB/GYN units. She worked for the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Family and Youth Services, working with families of high-risk infants. She was the Conference Co-Chair of the 1997 National Association of Perinatal Social Workers annual conference, “From Policy to Practice: The Survival of Perinatal Social Work,” in Washington, DC. She was the recipient of public health service grants which allowed her to participate in the 1987 and 1988 Public Health Social Work Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been a featured speaker on adoption issues at the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the National Association of Perinatal Social Workers, the March of Dimes, Columbia Hospital for Women nursing conference, and Alaska Association for the Education of Young Children annual conference.

Debbie Meloni
Homestudy Consultant
Debbie Meloni has a master's degree in social work, and she has over 15 years experience writing home studies.  She has previous experience working as a perinatal social worker in a hospital setting.  She is an invaluable, caring, professional, who is a wonderful resource to the families with whom she works.