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, Economy / Economic Climate
Goal: The result of hundreds of community meetings and thousands of volunteer hours, The Green Book describes the three legs, or goals, of sustainability that guide development at Stapleton:
- Economic Opportunity: Develop as a regional center for job creation in diverse fields with an emphasis on new technologies and emerging industries.
- Environmental Responsibility: Demonstrate the economic and community benefits of a long-term commitment to reducing consumption of natural resources and impacts on the natural environment.
- Social Equity: Provide broad access to social, cultural and economic opportunities for all segments of the community.
The Character Effect: A Universal Social-Emotional Learning Program for Elementary School Students (Greater Cincinnati Area (SW OH, Northern KY))
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education, Children, Urban
Goal: The goal of The Character Effect is to foster the development of students’ social-emotional skills, improving their behavior and readiness to learn in the classroom.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Teens, Adults
Goal: The Connect Project is a community-based youth suicide prevention program that works to develop a shared knowledge and understanding of suicide prevention within a community.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement
Goal: The goal of this program is to foster cultural understanding among the communities of West Palm Beach.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: The Louisiana Recovery Authority is working with Governor Blanco to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. Working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority is addressing short-term recovery needs while simultaneously guiding the long-term planning process.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The primary caregivers of terminally ill patients often have regular jobs, require additional assistance, or just need some respite from their demanding schedule. Senior Companions provide much-needed assistance that allows patients to remain at home while giving primary caregivers a break.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Goal: The mission of this organization is to provide services for eligible citizens that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, promote upward mobility, and enrich the quality of life.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Women
Goal: The goal of this program is to facilitate trauma recovery among women with histories of exposure to sexual and physical abuse.
Impact: Studies demonstrated that TREM participants showed a significant reduction in severity of problems related to substance use from baseline to 12-month follow-up relative to the comparison group. Reduced trauma symptoms were also significantly greater for the intervention group than for the comparison group at 12-month follow-up. Furthermore, the intervention group had significantly reduced symptoms of psychological problems 1 year after the intervention.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
Goal: The goals of Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter are:
- To reduce street homelessness and the shelter population by two-thirds in five years.
- To eliminate chronic, or long-term, homelessness on City streets and shelters in five years.
The plan's objectives include initiatives to better serve individuals and families who are at-risk of homelessness or who become homeless, as well as ensure that the City and its citizens are maximizing public resources. The plan has nine points - encompassing 60 initiatives - that seek to:
- Overcome street homelessness
- Prevent homelessness
- Coordinate discharge planning
- Coordinate city services and benefits
- Minimize disruption to homeless families and children
- Minimize duration of homelessness
- Shift resources into preferred solutions
- Provide resources for vulnerable populations to access and afford housing
- Measure progress, evaluate success, and invest in continuous quality improvement.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends standing orders for vaccinations—when used alone or when combined with additional interventions—to increase vaccination rates among adults and children from different populations or settings.