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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.

Practices that were submitted by local partners are listed first and will have a green box below them that indicates they are local. Users can also use the search features to find promising practices from across the country.

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All Children Excel (ACE) (Ramsey County, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent delinquency, substance abuse, and school dropout in high risk children.

Asthma Safe Kids (Philadelphia area, PA)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce the triggers of asthma by educating and increasing awareness to at risk populations.

Avenues to Independence (ATI) (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To provide shelter to homeless and at-risk young adults aged 18-24 as well as assistance to secure stable and independent living situations.

Bay Area Transportation Justice Working Group (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Transportation Justice Working Group is to increase awareness of the relationship between transportation and health.

Breathmobile® (San Bernardino, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children

Goal: The goal of the Breathmobile® program is to help children control their asthma by providing accessible care at local school sites.

BRIDGE (Elyria, OH)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate teen parents about pregnancy, birthing, and parenting.

CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults

Goal: The mission of Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio is to promote environmental changes to prevent obesity and make San Antonio one of the healthiest and most active communities in the nation.

Impact: Communities Putting Prevention to Work: San Antonio aims to reduce obesity by building accessible walking trails, providing bike-share programs, organizing free fitness programs and highlighting healthy eating options for the residents of San Antonio.

Change the Future WV (West Virginia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Change The Future WV emphasizes improving access to healthy food options and safe environments for physical activity to create healthier communities in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Impact: Change The Future WV has launched multiple community and school-based interventions to improve dietary behaviors and physical fitness in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center Partnerships (South Carolina)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Adults

Goal: By partnering with key community stakeholders, the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center is committed to providing accessible, affordable, quality mental health services to residents of Charleston and Dorchester counties.

Impact: Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center Partnerships has resulted in increased hospital and emergency services diversion, increased children tenure in communities and schools, and provided essential mental health services to improve the overall quality of life for residents of the community.

Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (Savannah, GA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12

Goal: The Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (YFA) mission is to create a community collaborative to bring about change in the policies, procedures and funding patterns of community institutions needed to enable the youth of the community to become productive, economically self-sustaining adults.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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