Strategies

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

74 Strategies

Juvenile curfews

Restrict youth under a certain age from being in public places during certain hours, usually at night
Evidence Rating:
Evidence of Ineffectiveness

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Kinship foster care for children in the child welfare system

Arrange full-time foster care by relatives or adults who are not a child’s parent but have a family relationship with the child when a child is removed from home due to a safety concern
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Mental Health First Aid

Provide an 8 or 12 hour training to educate laypeople about how to assist individuals with mental health problems or at risk for problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Mentoring programs to prevent youth delinquency

Pair youth at risk for delinquent behavior with mentors to develop relationships and spend time at regular meetings for an extended period; mentors have greater knowledge, skills, etc. than mentees
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for adolescents involved in the justice system

Use an intensive, family- and community-based intervention that addresses individual, family, and environmental risk factors that affect antisocial behaviors among adolescents who have committed serious offenses
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

National Fatherhood Initiative's 24/7 Dad

Help men improve their parenting skills and fathering knowledge via a voluntary, comprehensive fatherhood program
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

National Fatherhood Initiative's InsideOut Dad

Connect incarcerated fathers to their families and prepare them for release via small group education sessions that address fathering knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors
Evidence Rating:
Insufficient Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Neighborhood watch

Support the efforts of neighborhood residents to work together in preventing crime by reporting suspicious or potentially criminal behavior to local law enforcement
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)

Provide home visiting services to low income, first time mothers and their babies, starting during pregnancy and continuing through a child’s second birthday
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support

Outdoor experiential education

Support outdoor pursuits and adventure-based activities that emphasize inter- and intra-personal growth through overcoming obstacles (e.g., challenge courses, wilderness excursions, etc.)
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Safety and social support
  • Civic and community resources