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 Local, Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Safe Routes to School program is to improve safety and encourage more children to safely walk and bicycle to school. In addition, the programs work toward reducing traffic congestion and improving health and the environment.
Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Economy / Employment
Goal: The goal of this program is to help individuals make a successful transition to employment.
Filed under Local, Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Adults, Urban
Goal: MCBC's mission and work is about educating, assisting, and empowering individuals to live and work more harmoniously with nature and their community to avoid further ruin of the planet's finite life-sustaining capacity. A principal objective of its mission is to end waste as we know it today.
Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: The program's goal is to help four- and five-year old children become better prepared for kindergarten.
Note: This practice has been Archived.
Filed under Local, Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Rural
Goal: Homeward Bound of Marin's mission is to address and solve the homelessness problem in Marin County.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: OCWD's goals in 2001 were to reduce energy load, save money and preserve/extend equipment life. Its projects targeted power use in buildings' electrical/lighting systems; chemical and energy management issues concerning the plant treatment process and HVAC systems; and energy use by employees and ultimately customers.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: Florida started the drug court movement by creating the first treatment-based drug court in the nation in 1989. The drug court concept was developed in Dade County (Miami, Florida) stemming from a federal mandate to reduce the inmate population or suffer the loss of federal funding. The Supreme Court of Florida recognized the severity of the situation and directed Judge Herbert Klein to research the problem. Judge Klein determined that a large majority of criminal inmates had been incarcerated because of drug charges and were revolving back through the criminal justice system because of underlying problems of drug addiction. It was decided that the delivery of treatment services needed to be coupled with the criminal justice system and the need for strong judicial leadership and partnerships to bring treatment services and the criminal justice system together.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Families
Goal: Healthy For Life is school and community-based intervention program that promotes proper nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle habits in order to reduce childhood obesity in Orange County, CA.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The Wellness Curriculum was developed 1) to address the racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes and 2) to fill the need for information that the inmates themselves expressed.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Oral Health
Impact: The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends community water fluoridation to reduce tooth decay (i.e., dental caries or cavities).