Promising Practices

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Adults

Goal: To reduce the number of heroin overdose deaths in the community and to provide immediate peer support to those in crisis.

Impact: COAT peers counselors are able to provide immediate response and support to help individuals achieve long-term recovery.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Community Planning Program is to provide underserved communities with the tools and support they need to be able to shape equitable, safe, and vibrant neighborhoods throughout San Francisco, CA.

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

Goal: The San Juan Regional Medical Center community van aims to meet the transportation needs among citizens of the Four Corners region for reliable access to quality healthcare.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the program is to decrease African American infant mortality through raising awareness of racial health disparities, encouraging safe and healthy lifestyle practices, and providing correct perinatal health education.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to address the needs of juvenile offenders with emotional and behavioral disorders and their families.

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The purpose of the Career Connections Employment Resource Institute is to expand employment opportunities for persons with mental illness.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air, Teens

Goal: The goals of the Cool School Challenge are to:
* Educate young people, and by proxy their families, about climate change and everyday actions they can take to reduce their impact locally and globally;
* Reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions in and around schools;
* Encourage student leadership and empowerment;
* Foster a community of teachers/students working together to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; and
* Foster a new generation of environmental/air quality advocates.

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to help all students achieve at the highest levels.

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

Goal: The goal of cooperative learning is to establish positive interdependence among students. When positive interdependence is established in group learning situations, the quality of peer interaction improves. Instead of competing with or ignoring one another, students are more likely to promote the success of one another through mutual assistance, emotional support, and the sharing of ideas or resources. These positive social interactions, in turn, encourage greater social acceptance and the development of positive relationships among students and, in educational contexts, promote greater academic motivation and achievement (Johnson & Johnson, 1989, 2005). In fact, research on social interaction suggests that gains in social skills alone are insufficient to reduce social problems among students and encourage more positive peer relations. Only positive interdependence, and the subsequent positive social interactions that arise from it, can motivate youth to re-evaluate previous conclusions regarding the social desirability of others (Bierman, 2004).

Impact: Cooperative learning can have positive effects on adolescent bullying, alcohol use, and tobacco use.

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent depression and other mood disorders in adolescents.