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, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
The Doors to Discovery curriculum builds a foundation for literacy by focusing on children's vocabulary and expressive and receptive language skills.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
The Coterie exists to provide professional classic and contemporary theater, which challenges the audience and artist alike, and to provide educational, dramatic outreach programs in the community. The Coterie seeks to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations. The objectives of DHEP are to improve knowledge regarding HIV and STDs and reduce the intentions of teenagers to practice high-risk behavior. DHEP also continues to refine the culturally-specific dramatic workshops and ensure story lines are relevant to teenagers.
After watching this program, over 75% of students report that they would be less likely to practice high-risk sexual behavior.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health
The goal of this program is to detect nitrification in drinking water in order to protect infants under six months old from methemoglobinemia and prevent other consequential bacteriological problems.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban
The goal of the program is to provide police departments, schools and others with Naloxone and proper training to save lives from heroin overdose and to provide individuals with a chance to recover.
In the first six months of the second year, 26 saves were recorded.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the Employment Training Center is to provide at-risk, low-income youth and young adults with training in the green construction field in order to help them gain vital life and employment skills and achieve self-sufficiency.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Families
The goal of this program is to reduce energy usage in order to save on energy costs, increase energy reliability, prevent greenhouse gas emissions, and improve national energy security. It is also an essential strategy for reducing natural gas prices and ensuring a balanced energy future in a growing economy.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
The objectives of the program are to educate the public about the contributions that publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities make to clean water; to encourage public support for municipal and industrial efforts in effective wastewater management, biosolids management, and wet weather pollution control; and to recognize communities that go much beyond the minimum needed to meet Clean Water Act requirements.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of this program is to improve access to breast cancer information with linguistically and culturally appropriate outreach efforts.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Wildlife
The goal of this program is to establish a national consistency in the methods, protocols, and approaches to developing and managing noncommercial fish and wildlife consumption advisories. Fish consumption advisories are issued to warn consumers of unsafe levels of chemical contaminants in noncommercial fish and wildlife.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Families
The goal of the Fit Community initiative is to recognize communities that are making better quality of life a real priority by granting them awards to help in the implementation of community interventions targeting physical activity and healthy eating.