Promising Practices
The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.
The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of the D.C. Schoolyard Greening program is to increase and improve schoolyard green spaces in order to promote ecological literacy and environmental stewardship among students, teachers, parents and the community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent further criminal behavior among first-time juvenile misdemeanor drug offenders.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children
Goal: The goal of the DO-IT Scholars Program is to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. Its mission is to promote the use of computing and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Children, Women, Men, Families
Goal: The mission of the Domestic Violence Intervention Program is to end domestic violence through support, advocacy, shelter and education.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health
Goal: The goal of this program is to detect nitrification in drinking water in order to protect infants under six months old from methemoglobinemia and prevent other consequential bacteriological problems.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban
Goal: The goal of the program is to provide police departments, schools and others with Naloxone and proper training to save lives from heroin overdose and to provide individuals with a chance to recover.
Impact: In the first six months of the second year, 26 saves were recorded.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: The Early Care and Education Program's goal is to provide the highest quality childcare and early education services to children from disadvantaged families.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Oral Health, Children, Women
Goal: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) is a community-based intervention program to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their infants in Klamath County, Oregon.
Impact: The Early Childhood Cavities Prevention Program (ECCPP) educates pregnant women about dental hygiene to prevent dental infection in their children. Ninety-three percent of all participating infants were 100% cavity-free on their second birthday.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: ECEAP is a community-based, family-focused, comprehensive, pre-kindergarten program designed to help children and their families who are in poverty. The program focuses on helping three- and four-year-olds prepare for and succeed in school while helping their parents progress toward self-sufficiency.
Effect of a housing and case management program on emergency department visits and hospitalizations among chronically ill homeless adults: a randomized trial (Chicago, Illinois)
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To assess the effectiveness of a case management and housing program in reducing the use of urgent medical services among homeless adults with chronic medical illnesses.
Impact: For every 100 homeless adults offered the intervention, the expected benefits over the next year would be 49 fewer hospitalizations, 270 fewer hospital days, and 116 fewer ED visits.