Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

55 Strategies
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Child development accounts

Build assets through child development accounts (CDAs) with contributions from a sponsoring organization, such as government agencies or nonprofits, and family, friends; also called children’s savings accounts (CSAs)

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Income
  • Education

Child firearm access prevention laws

Impose penalties on adults for a child’s unsupervised access to firearms

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for offenders

Use individual or group therapy to help offenders discover and change the thought processes that lead to maladaptive behavior

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

College access programs

Help high school students prepare for college, complete applications, and enroll, especially first-generation applicants and students from families with low incomes

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Education

Community policing

Implement a policing philosophy based on community partnership, organizational transformation, and problem-solving techniques to proactively address public safety issues: also called community-oriented policing

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety

Cure Violence model

Use a public health approach to detect and intervene in potentially violent situations, educate and mobilize communities, and connect individuals at high risk of violence to services; formerly called Chicago CeaseFire

Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence
  • Community Safety

Dram shop liability laws

Hold alcohol retailers legally responsible for injuries or damage caused by providing alcohol to intoxicated or underage customers; also called commercial host liability laws

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Drug courts

Use specialized courts to offer criminal offenders with drug dependency problems an alternative to adjudication or incarceration

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Enhanced enforcement of laws prohibiting alcohol sales to minors

Initiate or increase retailer compliance checks, shoulder tap operations, parking lot observation outside alcohol establishments for laws that prohibit alcohol sales to minors

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Alcohol and Drug Use

Enhanced seat belt enforcement programs

Add publicity and other strategies (e.g., supplemental patrols, increased officers, etc.) to efforts to enforce existing seat belt laws

Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
  • Community Safety