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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.

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San Diego County Breaking Cycles (San Diego County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens

Goal: The goals of this program are to

- Prevent youth from becoming delinquent by focusing strengths-based, family-centered community resources and programs on "at-risk" youth and their families.
- Improve the juvenile justice and community intervention for juvenile offenders through a system of Graduated Sanctions (Intervention).

San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) Counseling Programs (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) is to provide resources, support, advocacy, and education to support the work of individuals and communities in San Francisco that are responding to or healing from sexual violence.

San Francisco Working Families Credit (San Francisco)

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.

Santa Barbara Car Free Project (Santa Barbara)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Children, Teens, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: The project's mission is to encourage car free, carefree travel to and around Santa Barbara for cleaner air and a healthier planet.

Saving Smiles (Lafayette County, Missouri)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Oral Health, Children, Families, Rural

Goal: The goal of Saving Smiles is to improve the oral health and in turn overall health of children in Lafayette County, especially for the poor and underserved.

Impact: Most students from the 11 participating schools in Lafayette County received a screening, fluoride varnish, and oral health education, and most of the children referred for dental care were seen by a dentist.

School Services Data Sharing Project (Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The goal of the data sharing project is to allow for continuity of care of admitted children from hospital to school and to decrease readmissions of the children to the hospital.

School Wellness Council Project (New York City )

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The mission of the New York City Department of Education wellness policy is to reduce sedentary lifestyle and to promote nutritious eating among children.

Seattle Municipal Sustainability Initiative (Seattle, WA)

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.

Seattle Social Development Project (Seattle, WA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban

Goal: The mission of SSDP is to understand and promote healthy behaviors and positive social development among children, adolescents, and young adults.

Senior Corps (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Civic Engagement, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of this program is to match seniors with volunteer opportunities.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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