New Visitor Orientation
We know that decisionmakers must sort through mounds of information about programs and practices for children and their families, and this information can sometimes be overwhelming. It is often difficult to tell which programs are effective and which are not and what research to trust on issues you care about. PPN is a site that helps you find evidence-based information about programs and practices that improve outcomes for children and their families, from health issues to family support.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter, a monthly announcement of site updates.
The information on the site is presented in various ways to make it easier for you to find the information on the outcome or topic area of interest to you. Information is organized around four major areas on the site, each of which can be easily accessed by clicking on the navigation column on the left side of any PPN page.
Programs that Work
This section presents overviews of programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness in rigorous studies, categorized as either "Proven" or "Promising" according to our evidence criteria, plus how to learn more about each program. The programs are organized around outcomes and indicators for ease of use. As an example, if you are interested in teen pregnancy prevention programs, you could find programs under the Healthy and Safe Children outcome area and the indicator titled "Youths abstaining from sexual activity or not engaging in risky sexual behavior." For each program, we provide an easy-to-understand summary of key program effects with links to a person or organization to contact for more detailed information. We also include some details on the research conducted on the program and any cautions about the research so that you can see why the program met our criteria for inclusion on our site and how much confidence you can have in the findings reported.
Note that programs identified as "Screened Programs" have not undergone a full review by PPN. Information about the indicators impacted by the program, a brief overview of the program, and a link to review evidence of the program's effectiveness synthesized by another credible organization is provided for all Screened Programs.
The Programs that Work section can be searched in the following ways:
- By outcome
- By indicator
- By topic (including target age of child, outcomes improved, setting, and services)
- By evidence level
- Alphabetically
Research in Brief
In addition to specific program summaries, we provide links to summaries of evidence-based information about additional policies and practices related to children and families. We've organized this Research in Brief section by the four primary outcome areas that PPN focuses on: Healthy and Safe Children, Children Ready for School, Children Succeeding in School, and Strong Families. These summaries generally consist of research briefs, news releases, journal abstracts, or executive summaries from credible sources we have screened, generally eight pages or fewer in length. Often more information can be found referenced on the summary page, so that you may read in more detail if you wish.
Service Delivery
We also provide information about coordinating service delivery, financing and budgeting, monitoring outcomes, and other management practices. As with the other information on programs and practices, this information is screened for credibility and we point you to further information sources on these topics.
Partner Pages
PPN is comprised of RAND staff who operate the site and Network Members who provide guidance and support to the project. These partner pages provide 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). Some of the resources listed on these partner pages are not found elsewhere on the site because they are state or organization specific, but they may be of interest to you even if you don't live in a specific state or belong to the organization.
We encourage you to explore all areas of the site and provide us with feedback about what you find most useful or any other suggestions for improving the site's usefulness. Please send comments to promisingpractices@rand.org.
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