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 Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve the educational performance of economically disadvantaged adolescents.
Impact: After 30 months, program youths reported significantly greater enjoyment and engagement in reading, verbal skills, writing, and tutoring. They also had better overall averages in reading, spelling, history, science, social studies, and school attendance compared with comparison and control youths.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: To develop a useful, sustainable and replicable model designed to reduce the risk of re-injury and mortality in Richmond area youths who have been previously hospitalized with violence related injuries including gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and assault injuries.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
Goal: BUILD's mission is to engage at-risk youth in the schools and on the streets, so they can realize their educational and career potential and contribute to the stability, safely and well being of your communities.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults
Goal: Building Bridges has the overall mission of providing education, training, services, advocacy, and promoting the rights and dignity of individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Impact: Building Bridges provides free HIV testing, prevention case management, individual and group counseling, and referrals for additional needed services.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to foster academic success among at-risk students.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of the program is to provide at-risk youth with mentorship and employment skills.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children
Goal: The goal of the Caring School Community program is to build classroom and school communities in order to support learning, academic success, positive relationships and character formation.
Impact: After 3 years, CSC students, relative to their comparison school counterparts, showed a greater sense of the school as a caring community, more fondness for school, stronger academic motivation, more frequent reading of books outside of school, a higher sense of efficacy, stronger commitment to democratic values, better conflict-resolution skills, more concern for others, more frequent altruistic behavior, and less use of alcohol.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children
Goal: The goal of this program is to improve the academic performance and cognitive development of young children who are considered at risk for developmental delays and school failure.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: A goal of the program is to reduce high-risk youth involvement in the criminal justice system by intervening immediately or very soon after youth are violently injured.