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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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Interfaith Housing of Western Maryland (Maryland)

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

Goal: Interfaith Housing Alliance strengthens families, builds communities and promotes human dignity and economic justice by providing decent, affordable housing for those with lower incomes. Through education, advocacy and the creation of new jobs, they foster economic growth and overcome the effects of shelter poverty.

Isles, Inc (Trenton, NJ)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Children, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: Isles' mission is to foster more self-reliant families in healthy, sustainable communities.

IT'S TIME (Chicago, IL)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Urban

Goal: The goal of IT'S TIME is to help women of child-bearing age quit smoking.

Impact: The IT'S TIME program succeeded in helping women quit smoking.

Itchy's Alphabet (Canada and USA)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Literacy, Children

Goal: The goal of Itchy's Alphabet is to help children improve their literacy levels.

iWalk (Sonoma)

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

Goal: The goal of iWalk is to encourage and support regular walking and exercise among Sonoma county residents.

Jacksonville Network for Strengthening Families (Jacksonville)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Jacksonville Network for Strengthening Families program is to provide training, services, and support to Jacksonville families in an effort to increase prepared marriages, reduce divorce rates, and increase financial and emotional support of children by non-custodial parents.

Jefferson County Juvenile Gun Court (Jefferson County, AL)

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

Goal: The program’s goals are to provide early intervention and greater accountability for juveniles charged with weapons offenses, help juveniles recognize and use nonviolent means to promote their safety and preserve their self-esteem, and effectively deliver the message that gun violence hurts victims, families, and communities.

Job Link (Cleveland, OH)

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

Goal: LEAP's mission is to "empower people with disabilities in making significant life choices and changes to enhance their employment and independent living opportunities." The Job Link program aims to assist students in making a successful transition from school to employment and adult community life.

Juma Ventures' Individual Development Accounts (San Francisco)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Children

Goal: The IDA program is designed to help young people enter the financial mainstream, gain financial stability and build assets.

Jumpstart: Connect Early

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children

Goal: The goal of the Jumpstart program is to build language and social skills in preschool children by providing one-on-one mentoring with college students throughout the school year.

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.

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