Promising Practices
The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.
The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to redistribute food waste to food banks, farmers, and compost.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: SFUSD aimed to provide students with healthy and appealing food choices and to diminish the dependence of schools and school-related organizations on selling unhealthy foods.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Families, Urban
Goal: The WFC has three primary objectives:
-increasing the federal EITC take-up rate;
-promoting asset-building; and
-retaining families in San Francisco.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Literacy, Children
Goal: Schools of Hope aims to increase third-grade reading proficiency to 75% by 2015 and 90% by 2020.
Impact: Students tutored through Schools of Hope have an increased reading proficiency compared to other students.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to introduce teachers, students, and chaperones to rail and train safety, the environment, and train travel. This program targets all students from kindergarten through high school.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: The goal of the community education, training and baseline testing component of the SCORE Concussion Program is to improve community understanding of concussions and response post-injury.
Impact: In 2012, The SCORE Concussion Education and Baseline Testing Program provided baseline testing and student athlete education to 1,522 children, lead 32 parent and coach education sessions, and conducted workshop training in more than 30 schools.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: The overarching purpose of the SMSI is to improve the quality of life for all people living and working in Seattle, within the means of nature.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults
Goal: The goal of the Senior Companion program is to pair low-income adult volunteers with homebound older adults in order to provide senior services to the elderly, as well as provide benefits to the Senior Companions.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: Both local and state governments face huge challenges in providing senior populations access to public, agency, professional and family caregivers, and community services that allow seniors to remain independent. The complex maze of constantly changing program and service eligibility rules challenge even the most knowledgeable senior service providers. Fragmentation within senior service agencies further results in duplication of services, unnecessary waiting lists, and caregiver and volunteer burnout. This resource attempts to address those problems by providing quick and easy access to a variety of programs.