Often in writing grants and implementing programs, funders want to invest in “what works” and has been proven effective. Implementing an evidence-based program is a way to demonstrate proven results. If your organization wants to prevent child abuse, you might consider implementing an evidence-based home visiting program like Nurse Family Partnership or Healthy Families of America that has shown to prevent child abuse and promote parent-child engagement.
Across the country more funders, including the federal government have been focused on investing in evidence-based programs as well as expanding the number of evidence-based programs across different sectors. The reasons might vary, but funders want are committed to improving the different social issues affecting individuals and communities across the country.
How do you know what programs are evidence-based or are available to replicate in your community? There are some national clearinghouses that have been created to identify different evidence-based programs models depending on your industry. Below is a list of sources to find evidence-based practices for several focus areas.
List of Evidence-Based Program Registries:
- What Works Clearinghouse focuses on providing educators and community partners with the tools and information about what they need to make evidence-based decisions by researching high-quality education programs, interventions, products, practices and policies.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) is a searchable online clearinghouse of evidence-based substance use and mental health interventions.
- The Youth.gov Program Directory features evidence-based programs whose purpose is to prevent and/or reduce delinquency or other problem behaviors in young people.
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide (MPG) contains information about evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. It is a resource for practitioners and communities about what works, what is promising, and what does not work in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection and safety.
- Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development provides a registry of evidence-based positive youth development programs designed to promote the health and well-being of children and teens. Blueprints identifies programs that are family, school, and community-based and target all levels of need — from broad prevention programs to highly-targeted programs for at-risk children.
Perhaps you have a program that you think could be evidence-based and replicated in other communities. Most of the resources listed above are seeking applicants from promising practices to submit their program for inclusion in the respective registry. They outline specific criteria to meet their standards for inclusion.
Are you interested in getting help evaluating your current program to demonstrate that it is evidence-based? We can help you with our evaluation services.
Maybe you are interested in implementing an evidence-based program or seeing if one of them is right for you. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when there is an abundance of evidence-based programs to support focus areas like education, youth development and overall health and well-being. It’s all about finding a program that aligns with your organization’s mission and expertise. At Transform Consulting Group, we can assist organizations to find evidence-based practices that align with their goals. Contact us today for a consultation!
