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, Environmental Health / Built Environment
Goal: The overall mission of the Civano Community is:
- To create a sense of place that fosters community and connects people to one another and their natural environments
- To tread lighter on the land through innovative design, and
- To introduce sustainable construction materials and new technologies to advance the quality of life.
Specific performance targets include:
- Reduce energy consumption by 75%
- Reduce potable water consumption by 65%
- Reduce landfill-destined solid waste by 90%
- Reduce internal vehicle trip miles by 40%, and
- Create one community job for every 2 residences.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Urban
Goal: The goal of the FHP program is to seek seeks to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors in the child and family domains.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment, Children
Goal: It is the mission of the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center to create a pathway of economic success for disadvantaged youth through a career service delivery system. The program strives to teach marketable skills in a safe and supportive setting, and to find meaningful employment for students when they leave the program.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
Goal: The objectives of the G.R.E.A.T program are to reduce gang activity, teach students about the negative consequences of gang involvement, and develop positive relations between students and law enforcement officials.
Good NEWS for Better Living through Improved Fitness and Education (Good NEWS for a Better L.I.F.E.) (Azle, TX)
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Goal: The goal of Good NEWS for a Better L.I.F.E. is to improve the health of senior citizens through participation in educational and physical activities.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alternative Medicine, Rural
Goal: The goal of GUAMAP is to train rural community health workers to provide remote settlements in northern Guatemala with access to sustainable, low-cost, low-technology, effective health care through the use of acupuncture.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Families
Goal: A 10-session group program, with two individual sessions, for divorced mothers and their children to promote resilience in children after parental divorce.
Impact: At the fifteen-year followup, NBP reduced the incidence of internalizing disorders for females and males and substance-related disorders and substance use for males.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of Project SOAR is to promote academic success among youth at Galveston Elementary School.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Goal: The goal of this program is to provide supportive housing for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS and/or substance abuse problems.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation
Goal: The State of Arizona's original interest in telecommuting arose out of the search for solutions to common issues facing many areas in the United States: traffic congestion, air pollution, and energy consumption. However, Arizona has found that telecommuting is a powerful management tool that increases employee productivity while reducing the cost of employee turnover.