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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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Career Skills Mentoring Program (Palm Beach and Martin, FL)

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.

Caring Bear Picnic (Arenac County, MI)

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

Goal: The mission of the Caring Bear Picnic is to educate children and parents on how to live healthy lifestyles through hands-on activities.

Impact: For over 30 years, the Caring Bear Picnic has educated children and parents on how to live healthy lifestyles through hands-on activities.

Carolina Abecedarian Project (Chapel Hill, NC)

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.

Castro Youth Housing Initiative (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: To meet the housing needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth ages 18-24.

CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: King County, WA (King County, WA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens

Goal: The King County Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative goals are to reduce obesity and tobacco use.

Impact: Communities Putting Prevention to Work in King County is associated with reducing obesity prevalence among students in participating school districts and has made substantial progress towards decreasing tobacco use.

CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults

Goal: The mission of Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio is to promote environmental changes to prevent obesity and make San Antonio one of the healthiest and most active communities in the nation.

Impact: Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio aims to reduce obesity by building accessible walking trails, providing bike-share programs, organizing free fitness programs and highlighting healthy eating options for the residents of San Antonio.

CeaseFire (Chicago, IL)

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

Goal: The goal of CeaseFire is to interrupt the cycle of violence by changing norms and promoting positive behavior change.

Center for Employment Opportunities (New York, NY)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help men and women who are returning home from prison to regain the skills and confidence needed for a successful transition to a stable, productive life.

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.