Promising Practices

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: The program’s goal is to increase access to health care by assisting children and their families in Los Angeles County to enroll in health coverage programs and utilize and retain these benefits.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Urban

Goal: Parenting education programs are designed to teach and enhance skills and behaviors that enable parents to better understand their child, support their development, and provide a more stable and supportive family environment. Research supports the numerous benefits of such programs, finding that parenting education programs help parents to teach communication and social skills while reducing their stress and improving their sense of competence. Importantly, these positive program outcomes are true for families regardless of whether they are currently dealing with issues of maltreatment or are simply at risk for it.

The Parent Enrichment Program is for families who are at risk for having their children removed from the home or whose children have been removed from the home due to abuse or neglect. The goal of the program is to enhance existing parenting skills, connect participants to needed resources, and support their goals related to social and economic self-sufficiency. Specific program objectives are to improve skills related to positive parenting and financial stability, develop family protective factors that guard against abuse and neglect, and reduce safety threats.

References:
Charlop-Christy, M. H., & Carpenter, M. H. (2000). Modified incidental teaching sessions: A procedure for parents to increase spontaneous speech in their children with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 2, 98–112.
Solomon, R., Necheles, J., Ferch, C., & Bruckman, D. (2007). Pilot study of a parent training program for young children with autism: The PLAY Project Home Consultation program. Autism, 11, 205–224.
Koegel, R. L., Bimbela, A., & Schreibman, L. (1996). Collateral effects of parent training on family interactions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 347–359.
Cowen, P. S. (2001). Effectiveness of a parent education intervention for at‐risk families. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 6(2), 73-82.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Women

Goal: The goals of the program are to 1) assist mothers in obtaining treatment, maintaining recovery, and resolving the complex problems associated with their substance abuse, 2) guarantee that the children are in a safe environment and receiving appropriate health care, 3) effectively link families with community resources, and 4) demonstrate successful strategies for working with this population and thus reduce the numbers of future drug- and alcohol-affected children.

Impact: At a 36-month follow-up women in PCAP were more likely to have received alcohol/drug treatment than the control group. Cost savings were suggested by a reduction in length of out-of-home care and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families, Urban

Goal: To prepare children of disadvantaged families for academic success and to strengthen families through intensive home visiting.

Impact: The Parent-Child Home Program builds school readiness, starting from the home. PCHP utilizes a non-directive, in-home modeling approach that encourages children's development, builds meaningful relationships between parents and children, and allows underserved families to access educational early-childhood services.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce youth violence and aggressive behavior by initiating prevention early in childhood, increasing children's resilience, and reinforcing positive behaviors.

Impact: One evaluation found that there was an 89% decrease in physical aggression and an 82% decrease in verbal aggression for participating students.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Respiratory Diseases, Children, Teens, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Phoenix Healthy Homes project was to use a multi-factorial approach to reduce hazard prevalence and improve self-reports of home safety and respiratory health.

Impact: The Phoenix Healthy Homes project showed that a tailored healthy homes improvement package significantly improves self-reported respiratory health and safety, reduces respiratory health and injury hazards, and can be implemented in concert with a mobile clinical setting.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of the PATH Program is to improve knowledge of cardiovascular health and reduce risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Rural

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve immunization rates in Madera County.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / School Environment, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve academic success, behavior, and character development.

Impact: Multiple studies have consistently found PA effective for improving achievement scores, attendance, and self-concept and for reducing drug use, violence, and other problem behaviors. Results were often better in more disadvantaged schools.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the PASS Program is to promote job retention and advancement among individuals leaving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Impact: The PASS program did not meet the goal of having its participants retain their initial jobs. However, PASS did result in PASS participants being more likely to find new jobs (occasionally with higher earnings) after having lost or moved on from previous jobs.