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What We Do

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) operates the PPN website (http://www.promisingpractices.net). The PPN website features summaries of programs and practices that are proven to improve outcomes for children. All of the information on the site has been screened for scientific rigor, relevance, and clarity.

Read more about the criteria used to evaluate programs.


Who uses the information on this site?

This site provides evidence-based information to decisionmakers, practitioners, and program funders who must choose among many possibilities for improving results for children, youth, and families. The information pertains to children from the prenatal period to age 18, as well as the families and communities in which they live.


How is this site organized?

The information on the website is organized around these main sections:


Programs that Work
Overviews of programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness in rigorous studies, plus how to learn more about each program. The programs are organized around outcomes and indicators for ease of use.

Research in Brief
Summaries of evidence-based information about additional policies and practices related to children and families.

Resources and Tools
Links to databases, fact sheets, screening tools, seminal reports, and a variety of other resources that are among the best research-based materials available on children and families.

Expert Perspectives
Child policy experts share their perspectives on a variety of topics, including television programming for children under two years old, child abuse prevention, child care quality, effective State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) policy, preventing low birth weight, and the quality of children's health care in the United States.

Partner Pages
Collections of research and information on specific priority areas of PPN's organizational members. Many of these are focused on a particular state (e.g., New York or Missouri).

Read more about how this web site is organized.


What makes the PPN site unique?

PPN is different from the many other web sites related to children and families in the following ways:

  • RAND researchers and other scientific experts screen all the information on the site for scientific credibility and only post items that contain objective, high-quality information. Programs that have not been reviewed directly by PPN but have been screened by other credible organizations are included as "Screened" programs.
  • All the information on the site is presented in short, easy-to-understand summaries, but those summaries also include links to longer reports if you want to know more.
  • PPN presents information from a wide variety of reliable sources, not just information from PPN partner organizations.
  • The site is not just about one narrow topic, such as school readiness or juvenile justice. It covers a range of subjects relating to children and families and is organized by outcomes and indicators.
  • PPN's target audience is policymakers, service providers, and other decisionmakers who care about improving outcomes for children and families.
  • The site is continuously updated so that it always contains new information.