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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Weight Status
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Families
Goal: The goal of the On-Call Services program is to provide information about domestic violence and the legal system to survivors of abuse. The program also offers legal advocacy for court hearings and meetings with the police, prosecutor, and other involved attorneys, probation, and others.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Poverty, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program was to help poor families build up their “human capital” and avoid long-term poverty.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Options/Opciones Project is to reduce or eliminate risky sexual and drug use behaviors of HIV-infected patients.
Impact: The Options/Opciones Project shows that a clinician-delivered HIV prevention intervention targeting HIV-infected patients can result in reductions in unprotected sex and that interventions of this kind should be integrated into routine HIV clinical care.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Families
Goal: The goal of PACE+ for adolescents is to: decrease total dietary fat consumption; increase fruits & vegetable consumption; increase participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity; decrease sedentary habits among adolescents aged 11-15.
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 Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of Parent Voices is to improve access to child care for all families through advocacy.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: To prepare children of disadvantaged families for academic success and to strengthen families through intensive home visiting.
Impact: When families are engaged in facilitated discussion, the participating families tend to talk more, read more, and have more positive interactions with their children. They engage in more educational activities at home and in their communities.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to teach effective parenting practices in order to promote healthy child adjustment.
Impact: Immediate changes for parents include improved positive parenting practices and reduced family coercion. Benefits to these parenting practices, in turn, have been found to result in reductions in child behavior problems and parental depression.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to reduce child behavior problems and delinquency and substance abuse among adolescents, to improve parenting knowledge and skills, and to strengthen the relationship between adolescent and parent.
Impact: Findings from studies show an association between Parenting Wisely participation and improvements in family problem solving, family roles, family involvement, parenting self-efficacy, parenting sense of competence, and decreased adolescent violent behavior.