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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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Diamond Youth Shelter (San Francisco, CA)

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

Goal: To provide emergency shelter to homeless or runaway youth aged 12 to 17.

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of Earn It! Keep It! Save It! is to help low-income families become financially stable.

Ellis Street Apartments (San Francisco, CA)

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

Goal: To provide an independent living situation with support services for at-risk youths aged 18 to 24.

Flex Your Power Case Study: North Tahoe Public Utilities District (PUD) (Placer County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of this project was to provide a safe fresh-water supply in an efficient manner.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Patterson Irrigation District (Stanislaus County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants, Rural

Goal: The goal of this project was to reduce electricity usage by 10-20 percent.

Germ Fighters Student Illness Prevention Program (Johnson County, IA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children

Goal: The overall objective of the program is to reduce student absence due to communicable illness.

Get Movin' Challenge (Owensboro, KY)

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

Goal: The contest is designed as a fun way for community members to get more exercise, with a target of 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day.

Goodwill Industries Transitional Jobs Program (San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help individuals make a successful transition to employment.

Green Flag Incentive Program (Long Beach)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of the Green Flag Incentive Program is to reduce air pollution in communities surrounding the Port of Long Beach.

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.