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 Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens, Adults, Families
Goal: The goal of Be Food Safe is to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness by instructing consumers in proper procedures for handling and preparing food.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Urban
Goal: The curricula aim to increase participants' knowledge about the risks of various behaviors and educate participants on how condoms and/or abstinence can effectively be used to lower those risks.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alternative Medicine, Urban
Goal: Being Alive is a nonprofit membership organization created and operated by and for people living with HIV/AIDS that aims to build a healthier and more powerful community of HIV-positive people.
Best Practices of Mayors and Their City Governments in Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity (Santa Clarita, CA)
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families
Goal: The goals of the program are to: 1) reduce crime and improve public safety; 2) improve police-citizen cooperation and communication; 3) improve law enforcement responsiveness to members of the community; and 4) increase quality of life and increase police and citizen's ability to creatively solve community problems.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Families
Goal: Currently, the average U.S. family spends nearly $1,300 a year on energy bills, with much of that energy being wasted due to air leaks, inefficient appliances, and a general lack of attention to this important issue. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are dedicated to educating the community association industry--and the significant portion of the U.S. population it represents--on the many ways to increase the energy efficiency of their homes, and thereby reduce both energy consumption and costs.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children
Goal: Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide supportive relationships for young people to assist them in realizing their potential.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Teens, Women, Families
Goal: The mission of BirthMatters is to provide community-based doula services to vulnerable mothers in need of pregnancy and birth support. The program aims to increase breastfeeding rates and decrease cesarean (c-section) rates among young, low-income mothers.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To address the detrimental impact of alcohol on women in the African American community.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases
Goal: The goal of the program is to raise awareness of the most effective Lyme disease prevention practices, to educate the community about the early signs and symptoms of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and to promote timely diagnosis and treatment.
Impact: The BLAST program has raised awareness of the most effective Lyme disease prevention practices through various outlets and has been recommended by the CDC.
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Civic Engagement, Children, Families
Goal: The mission of the Blessings in a Backpack program is to help meet the nutritional needs of children by providing weekend meals for children and generating public awareness on the issue of child hunger.