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.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: The program has two main focuses. The first is prevention of sexual, emotional, or physical abuse by people known to the child. The other focus of the program is safety around strangers.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens
Goal: SAFE-T is committed to conducting research in the areas of child sexual abuse, sexualized behaviour in children and adolescents who have offended sexually. Our treatment is uniquely tailored to respond to the strengths and challenges of individuals and families with the overarching goal of healthy future relationships.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Children, Rural
Goal: The goal of this program is to help at-risk youth and young adults to finish high school, take college-level classes, and have structured work experiences that will lead to successful transitions to adulthood.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens
Goal: The goals of this program are to
- Prevent youth from becoming delinquent by focusing strengths-based, family-centered community resources and programs on "at-risk" youth and their families.
- Improve the juvenile justice and community intervention for juvenile offenders through a system of Graduated Sanctions (Intervention).
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: SFUSD aimed to provide students with healthy and appealing food choices and to diminish the dependence of schools and school-related organizations on selling unhealthy foods.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety
Goal: The goal of this program was to improve transportation safety in Massachusetts.
Impact: The Saving Lives Program successfully reduced drunk driving by 42% and speeding-related crashes by 25% through community-based, innovative, and cost-effective interventions.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Urban
Goal: The goal of the School Nutrition Policy Initiative is to prevent and reduce overweight and obesity among low-income children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children
Goal: The goal of this intervention was to reduce dental caries among children by promoting twice daily tooth brushing.
Impact: Supervised tooth brushing and positive reinforcement in a school setting decreased the rate of dental caries in participating children.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the program is to help families gain or increase parenting and family management skills that would facilitate successful child academic and social adjustment and, therefore, to promote social and academic competence and to lower risk for later antisocial behavior. In addition, the intervention concentrates on promoting initial academic success.
Impact: Children who received the intervention improved in overall reading ability at a more rapid rate than those who did not receive the intervention. In addition, SAFEChildren participants showed an improvement in concentration.