White honored as social work research Fellow

Dr. Kevin White has been a regular attendee and presenter at the Society for Social Work and Research annual conference for 15 years.

This year will be different.

Dr. Kevin White was selected for the Society for Social Work and Research Class of Fellows.

White, an associate professor in East Carolina University’s School of Social Work and an accomplished researcher in improving safety, permanency and well-being for at-risk youth and their families, is part of the SSWR 2026 Class of Fellows. The SSWR noted the number of inductees this year was approximately 1% of the SSWR membership.

White and the rest of the class will be announced during the conference and awards presentations Jan. 17 in Washington, D.C.

“It’s a research society that I  respect greatly and it’s been a real blessing to be part of it and to be honored in this way,” White said. “I have seen this society push the field to be more evidence-based, and not just rely on anecdotes and individual beliefs about best practices. I would like to see it continue to do that.”

The SSWR Fellowship program recognizes members for their individual accomplishments, leadership and contributions to the scientific society. The SSWR anticipates Fellows will serve as role models and mentors for individuals pursuing careers in social work.

White’s research focus includes exploring evidence-based solutions for strengthening the lives of youth involved with the public child welfare system. He also has mentored many ECU students, including in one of his currently funded research programs in which White directly prepares accepted students to work in a public child welfare setting after they graduate.

“It’s been a great thing,” he said. “This year I’ve really enjoyed taking that over the Child Welfare Education Collaborative program and teaching the class that gives state training to our students. In mentoring and sharing my experiences and issues with the foster care system, I hope it helps those students be more successful in their careers going forward. Students have to apply to get into the program, so they want to be a part of it. It’s been great.”

This conference also is an opportunity for White to share ECU’s mission and community-centric impact to an array of colleagues.

“One of the things I love about being here at ECU is we’re so community focused,” White said. “We have connections in the local community with so many agencies. We really have a mission to not only follow the evidence, but to also impact our local communities. I enjoy this work, as well as opportunities to go to a national or international event to talk about rural or local issues that affect eastern N.C., but don’t often get a lot of broader attention.”

White’s presence with SSWR included leading a data science interest group. He aims to continue research that positively impacts children in foster care.

“Kids can suffer as a result of involvement with the foster care system, so I wanted to get involved in the research side of things to really evaluate how policies impact those kids in the system,” White said. “I’m big on evidence-based programs and policies, just making sure that what we are doing is best for the kids in the system. That’s how it all started for me, and what got me involved in research.”