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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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Academic Tutoring and Social Skills Training (Durham, NC)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to encourage social and academic development among grade school children who are socially rejected and have serious academic problems in reading or mathematics.

Achievement through Community Services, Education and Skill-Building (ACES) (Philadelphia, PA)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote positive youth development and to help youth gain valuable work experience.

Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) (Ohio)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide literacy skills and other basic skills to the most educationally and economically disadvantaged individuals in the state.

Avon Park Youth Academy and Street Smart Program (Florida)

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

Goal: The program’s goal is to provide specialized, remedial education and intensive vocational training to moderate risk youth committed to Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice.

Best Practices of Mayors and Their City Governments in Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity (Santa Clarita, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families

Goal: The goals of the program are to: 1) reduce crime and improve public safety; 2) improve police-citizen cooperation and communication; 3) improve law enforcement responsiveness to members of the community; and 4) increase quality of life and increase police and citizen's ability to creatively solve community problems.

Campaign for a Clean, Safe and Habitable Community (Los Angeles, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban

Goal: The mission of this project is to improve the safety and living conditions for residents of Boyle Heights and to empower those residents to make positive changes in their communitites and their lives.

Check and Connect (Minneapolis, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of Check and Connect is to encourage middle and high school students to stay in school.

Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) (Phoenix, AZ)

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

Goal: The objectives of the G.R.E.A.T program are to reduce gang activity, teach students about the negative consequences of gang involvement, and develop positive relations between students and law enforcement officials.

Juvenile Intervention and Prevention Program (JIPP) (Los Angeles, CA)

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

Goal: The goal of the Juvenile Intervention and Prevention Program is to help at-risk youth who reside in gang-ridden neighborhoods experience success in school, at home, and in the community.

Partnerships That Work: National Service and Business in Welfare to Work (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Teens, Families

Goal: This study addresses how to use national service to build effective welfare-to-work programs, and to encourage business collaborations. Two major suggestions are partnering with Employer Advisory Groups and generating national level support.

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.