The International Society
for Child Indicators

ISCI Award in the honor of Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman

The International Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) Award in honor of Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman recognizes researchers and scholars demonstrating profound involvement in international comparative studies of children welfare and well-being, and whom in their studies and scholarly writing have been significantly contributing to the advancement of child indicators internationally.

Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman are recognized as leading scholars in the field of child indicators. Their pioneering work in comparative child and family policy studies spurned the social indicators movement. The award is intended to inspire individuals to pursue research in this field.

Nominations may be submitted only by researchers and scholars with an accepted abstract to be presented at the ISCI biennial conference. The submission includes the following information:

1)    Name, contact information, and affiliation details of nominee and person nominating.

2)    Short biography of nominee

3)    Complete list of publications of nominee

4)    Abstract that has been accepted for presentation at the conference.

The call for awards is disseminated globally and reviewed by the ISCI Awards Committee about one year before the biennial ISCI conference, when the award is conferred in a public ceremony.

ISCI Kahn & Kamerman Award 2017

ISCI Kahn & Kamerman Award 2019

ISCI Kahn & Kamerman Award 2022

ISCI Kahn & Kamerman Award 2024 call

Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman

Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman are recognized as leading scholars in the field of child indicators. Their pioneering work in comparative child and family policy studies spurned the social indicators movement.

Dr. Alfred Joseph Kahn (1919 –2009) was an American expert on social policy and social work pioneer.  Few, if any scholars in the field of social work have impacted the literature and thinking in the area of social policy as he has. Dr. Kahn was among the first to conduct comparative studies on child and family policies and monitored the status of children since the 1940s.  He conducted several national and international studies on social planning, social services, delinquency and community planning for children for government, private foundations and the United Nations and foreign governments. He published extensively on social planning, social welfare research, the development of social work knowledge and community of mental health, and on comparative social policies with Sheila B. Kamerman.

 

Sheila Brody Kamerman is the Compton Foundation Centennial Professor Emerita of Social Work for the Prevention of Children’s and Youth Problems at Columbia University.  She and Dr. Kahn co-directed the Institute for Child and Family Policy at Columbia University and the Cross-National Studies Research Program. Dr. Kamerman is a prolific scholar and writer. In addition to her research and scholarly writing, she served on several Boards of Directors of child and policy-related organizations, including: Zero to Three: The National Center for Infants and Toddlers and their Families, Citizen’s Committee for the Children of New York; the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, and the National Partnership of Women and Families. She has been on the Board of several scholarly journals, including the Children and Youth Services Review, the Social Service Review and the International Social Security Review. Dr. Kamerman worked closely with U.S. and international organizations regarding early childhood education and care, parental leave policies, and child poverty.