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 Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Urban
Goal: Research shows that children benefit from kinship care in many ways. Kinship care can reduce the trauma that children may have previously endured and the trauma that accompanies parental separation by providing them with a sense of stability and belonging in an otherwise unsettling time. Children who have been placed with relatives may have experienced chronic neglect and physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. While these experiences place children at risk for behavioral and health problems, a positive relationship with a caregiver and a stable and supportive living environment can mitigate their impact.1 Grandparents, other relative caregivers, and “fictive kin” — close friends holding a family-like bond with a child — are in a unique position to fill this supportive role and promote resiliency.
The goal of Kinship Connections is to support kin families' social, emotional, and economic needs to increase placement stability within the child’s community. Specific program objectives are to improve family economic security, family relationship functioning, child well-being, and to increase kin caregiver social support.
1Center on the Developing Child. (2007). The impact of early adversity on children’s development (InBrief). Retrieved from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/ resources/inbrief-the-impact-of-early-adversity-onchildrens-development.
2 Generations United. (2017). In loving arms: The protective role of grandparents and other relatives in raising children exposed to trauma. Retrieved from https://dl2.pushbulletusercontent.com/ uhDY7UgdGYnOod6G7VFkdKnuzE3yALmr/17- InLovingArms-Grandfamilies.pdf.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources, Children, Urban
Goal: Larkin Street Youth Service's mission is "to create a continuum of services that inspires youth to move beyond the streets. We will nurture potential, promote dignity, and support bold steps for all." HIRE UP's mission is: "to provide homeless and runaway youth with an educational foundation and marketable skill set that will greatly increase their chances of progressing into an independent, productive adulthood."
Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation / Libraries & Museums, Families
Goal: This program aims to educate library staff and train workers how to best serve library patrons with autism and their families.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: Reduce unprotected insertive and receptive anal intercourse among HIV-negative black men who have sex with men (MSM) as well as to reduce the number of sex partners, increase consistent condom use during anal intercourse and increase testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
Goal: The mission of this program is to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by alcohol and other drug use through treatment, education, and research.
Impact: Matrix participants were 38% more likely to stay in treatment and 27% more likely to complete treatment compared to nonparticipants. Stimulant drug-use indicators were significantly reduced during treatment for Matrix participants. They also produced more drug-free urine samples compared to nonparticipants.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens
Goal: Media-Smart Youth aims to stimulate youth to think about physical activity and nutrition by developing an awareness of the link between media and health.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends depression care management at home for older adults with depression on the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness in improving short-term depression outcomes.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends targeted school-based cognitive behavioral therapy programs to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms among school-aged children and adolescents who are assessed to be at increased risk for these conditions.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Urban
Goal: The MoodGYM and Blue Pages websites aim to alleviate depression symptoms and increase understanding of depression using the Internet.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education, Adults
Goal: The goal of the program is to enhance services to unemployment insurance (UI) claimants and connecting to reemployment opportunities by collaborating efforts between Employment Services (ES) and Unemployment Insurance to be provided at the same time. This collaborative helps customer service by making follow-up easier and build rapport with the customers. Additionally, it sought to save time by cutting out the middle man and saving money by combining both the National Reemployment Services (RES) and Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) initiatives.
Impact: REA participants received 3.13 fewer weeks of benefits compared to control group peers and received $536 less in regular UI benefits. Program participants were 20 times more likely to obtain employment in the first 2 quarters after program entry.