Kate Rorer Watson

Kate R. Watson, PhD, is a social welfare researcher whose work examines how organizations and systems can become more trauma-informed, equitable, and responsive to the people they serve. Her research focuses on trauma-informed organizational change, organizational climate, child welfare and education systems, and the experiences and well-being of transition-age youth. She uses mixed-methods, community-based participatory research, qualitative, and measurement-development approaches to connect the perspectives of practitioners and people with lived experience to organizational and systems-level change. Her work aims to bridge research, policy, and practice by generating evidence that can inform more effective and humane social service systems.

PhD: University of California, Los Angeles (Social Welfare)

MSW: University of California, Los Angeles (Social Welfare)

B.S.: American University (Business Administration)

Peer Reviewed Publications

Fensterstock, Natalie; Watson, Kate R; Robinson, Luz E; Warri, Vanessa R; Garcia, Anthony A; Wu, Chaoyue; Hogenkamp, Sawyer; Xu, Yinuo; Garner, Hannah; Dunn, Danielle; Astor, Ron Avi; Espelage, Dorothy L; McMahon, Susan D; Reddy, Linda A; Martinez, Andrew; Anderman, Eric M; Worrell, Frank C (2025. ) Social Workers' Reports on Needs and Recommendations to Enhance School Safety.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), , 15 (5 ) , More Information

Watson, Kate R; Astor, Ron Avi (2025. ) A critical review of empirical support for trauma-informed approaches in schools and a call for conceptual, empirical and practice integration.Review of education (British Educational Research Association), , 13 (1 ) , More Information

Robinson, Luz E; Watson, Kate R; Fensterstock, Natalie; Hogenkamp, Sawyer; Xu, Yinuo; Garner, Hannah; Warri, Vanessa R; Morgan, Casie H; Garcia, Anthony A; Wu, Chaoyue; Dunn, Danielle; Espelage, Dorothy L; Astor, Ron A; McMahon, Susan D; Reddy, Linda A; Anderman, Eric M; Worrell, Frank C; Martinez, Andrew (2025. ) School Safety Concerns and Solutions: A Qualitative Analysis of U.S. School Psychologists' Perspectives.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), , 15 (2 ) , More Information

Watson, Kate R; Astor, Ron Avi; Capp, Gordon P; Benbenishty, Rami (2024. ) School Social Workers' Reports of Differences in Policies and Practices in Trauma-Informed and Non-Trauma-Informed Schools.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), , 14 (11 ) , More Information

Astor, Ron Avi; Benbenishty, Rami; Capp, Gordon P; Watson, Kate R; Wu, Chaoyue; McMahon, Susan D; Worrell, Frank C; Reddy, Linda A; Martinez, Andrew; Espelage, Dorothy L; Anderman, Eric M (2024. ) How school policies, strategies, and relational factors contribute to teacher victimization and school safety.Journal of community psychology, , 52 (1 ) ,39-57 More Information

Watson, Kate R; Capp, Gordon; Astor, Ron Avi; Kelly, Michael S; Benbenishty, Rami (2022. ) "We Need to Address the Trauma": School Social Workers' Views About Student and Staff Mental Health During COVID-19.School mental health, , 14 (4 ) ,902-917 More Information

Watson, Kate R; Astor, Ron Avi; Benbenishty, Rami; Capp, Gordon; Kelly, Michael S (2021. ) Needs of Children and Families during Spring 2020 COVID-19 School Closures: Findings from a National Survey.Social work, , More Information

Capp, Gordon; Watson, Kate; Astor, Ron A; Kelly, Michael S; Benbenishty, Rami (2021. ) School Social Worker Voice during COVID-19 School Disruptions: A National Qualitative Analysis.Children & schools, , 43 (2 ) ,79-88 More Information

Watson, K. R. & Astor, R. A., Capp, G., & Benbenishty, R. (2026. ) Social Workers’ Perspectives on the Climate of Trauma-Informed and Non-Trauma-Informed Schools.Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, , More Information

Watson, K. R., Camacho Torres, Y., Solis, A. J., Rubtsova Henderson, A., Mogy, N., Wright, Z., Sac Tzep, A., & Talavera, J. (2025. ) Foster youth perceptions of the system’s impact on themselves and their families: A California photovoice project.Child Protection and Practice, , 5 , More Information

Abrams, L. S., Watson, K. R., *Lesnick, J., & Barnert, E. S. (2026. ) “I was able to stay afloat:” Formerly incarcerated young adults’ experiences of a guaranteed income program .Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research., ,

Kelly, M. S., Benbenishty, R., Capp, G., Watson, K., & Astor, R. (2021. ) Practice in a pandemic: School social workers’ adaptations and experiences during the 2020 COVID-19 school disruptions .Families in Society, , 102 (3 ) ,400

Astor, R. A., Benbenishty, R., & Watson, K. R. (2021. ) A conceptual and large-scale empirical examination of the Welcoming Empowerment Monitoring Approach (WEMA) for school safety and substance use reduction .Research on Social Work Practice, , 31 (5 ) ,454

Academic - Health Sciences Building
3225 Eden Avenue
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45267
Phone: ‪(513) 452-6355
watso2kr@ucmail.uc.edu