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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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Transitional Housing Placement Plus (California)

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

Goal: The goal of THP-Plus is to provide affordable housing and supportive services to youth formerly in the foster care and juvenile probation systems.

Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team (Orange County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Public Safety, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of the TARGET program is to reduce gang crime by selectively incarcerating the most violent and repeat (recidivist) gang offenders (based on their criminal records).

Tribes

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The clear purpose of the Tribes process is to assure the healthy development of every child so that each one has the knowledge, skills and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.

Truant Recovery Program (Richmond, CA)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce truancy in West Contra Costa schools.

TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition Center (Harlem)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: TRUCE works with young people in order to increase their awareness of fitness and health, improve their academic performance, and empower them to make healthier decisions.

Twelve Together (San Diego)

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

Goal: The Twelve Together program seeks to help students stay in school and make academic progress.

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Screening, and Intervention Program (Los Angeles)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Diabetes, Adults, Urban

Goal: The program's goal is to provide screening, education, and support services for patients at high risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and for those already diagnosed with the disease.

Unite for Sight Eyeglass Drives

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide eyeglasses to people in developing countries and to involve students in improving conditions in developing countries.

Urban Farming Education (West Oakland, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: City Slicker Farms offers a range of educational programs through its Urban Farming Education initiative to enable individuals and communities to grow their own food.

Utah Commission on Marriage (Utah)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Families

Goal: The Utah Commission on Marriage is charged with making recommendations about how to promote, strengthen and increase awareness of the importance of marriage in Utah.

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.