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 Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Women, Families, Rural
Goal: The overall goal of Healthy Futures is to improve community health by ensuring access to health care and community resources for pregnant women and young children in the region.
Impact: In 2012, over 3,500 contacts, 970 home visits, and 30,000 educational mailings were delivered. Of those who initiated breastfeeding at birth, 67% of enrolled infants are still breastfeeding at eight weeks post-partum. Eighty-three percent of enrolled two-year-old children are fully immunized.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Families
Goal: Healthy Kids plans to enroll all uninsured children who are not eligible for Medi-Cal and who are residents of Sonoma County in the health care and insurance program.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Governance, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act is to ensure that funding for new parks and green spaces is prioritized for critically underserved and disadvantaged urban communities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: Improve early identification of concerns and initiate interventions to improve the health, development and emotional wellness of children, newborn to age three.
Impact: HSFYC parents were less likely to use severe discipline (OR: 0.68) and more likely to negotiate with their child (OR: 1.20). HSFYC parents had greater odds of reporting a clinical or borderline concern regarding their child's behavior (OR: 1.35).
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Rural
Goal: The goal of Heaven's Loft is to encourage low-income expectant mothers to receive prenatal care, well-baby care, immunizations, health screenings, and educational classes on childbirth, breastfeeding, and infant/child care and parenting.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The mission of the Help Me Grow National Center is to enable and support the building of HMG systems across the country so that states can implement effective, universal, early surveillance and screening for all children and link those at risk for developmental and behavioral problems to appropriate programs and services.
HMG National supports affiliate states by:
Promoting development and expansion of a national network of states that are building HMG systems
Providing technical assistance to help states implement the core components and structural requirements of HMG
Informing the public discourse on the crucial importance of optimal child development
Ultimately, HMG National's goal is for all families to have knowledge of and easy access to statewide systems that support them in learning about their children's developmental needs and finding appropriate services.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goal of Hepatitis Outreach Network (HONE) is to prevent viral hepatitis among high risk adult, minority groups in New York City, as well as to provide screening and access to care.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to educate high school students regarding the risks of STDs, prevention methods, and the need for testing if sexually active.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The program's objectives are to perform systematic and objective monitoring and evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of care and pursuit of opportunities to improve care and resolve problems as they are identified.
Home Again: A Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County (Portland and Multnomah County, OR)
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to end homelessness in the City of Portland and Multnomah County by 2015. As efforts to end homelessness continue, city and county officials will focus on nine actions. Programs throughout the county will address moving people into Housing First, ending the practice of discharging people into homelessness from jails and hospitals, improving outreach, emphasizing permanent solutions, increasing the housing supply, creating new partnerships, improving the rent assistance system, increasing economic opportunity for homeless people and implementing new data collection technology.