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, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Juvenile Intervention and Prevention Program is to help at-risk youth who reside in gang-ridden neighborhoods experience success in school, at home, and in the community.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of the National Coalition for Food-Safe Schools is to reduce foodborne illness in the U.S. by improving food safety in schools.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural
Goal: The goal of the North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program is to increase breast cancer screening among older African American women.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and to decrease violence and weapons-carrying among high school students.
Impact: At 2-year follow-up, students in Project TND schools were about half as likely to use tobacco when compared with students in control schools. Students in Project TND schools were about one-fifth as likely to use hard drugs relative to similar students in control schools.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is for youths to postpone alcohol use until adulthood.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The program is designed to teach students the skills and knowledge required to complete Algebra I by the end of the eighth grade.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Adults, Families
Goal: GAIN is part of a large-scale, welfare-to-work initiative program operating in every county in California. In L.A. County, the initiative is under the supervision of the Department of Public Social Services. It helps local businesses and employers find and hire quality workers who seek meaningful employment. Prospective workers are participants in the state welfare programs known as California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) or General Relief Opportunities for Work (GROW).
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Community & Business Resources, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The mission of the Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy is to improve family health in urban food desert neighborhoods through grants for community gardens and nutrition education.
Impact: Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy partnered with the City of Pasadena to establish the Villa-Parke Community Center, where community members can learn about gardening, cooking, nutrition.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Women, Families
Goal: The goal of the WIC Community Garden is to educate, empower and feed the families in the Kansas WIC program, creating a healthier community.
Impact: In a three-month period, 356.8 pounds of fresh vegetables were given to WIC families.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Literacy
Goal: ALMA’s mission is to help adults gain basic reading, writing, and math skills they need to achieve their educational, career, and personal goals.