Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: In this study, it was sought to examine whether home delivery of medically tailored meals or non-tailored food reduces the use of selected health care services and medical spending among Commonwealth Care Alliance members. Because there is knowingly an association between food insecurity and emergency room visits, it was hypothesized that the medically tailored meals would cause a reduction in ER visits and other costly healthcare services and expenditures.

Impact: Researchers estimate monthly net savings of $220 per participant for medically tailored meals and $10 per participant for the non-tailored food program. This study suggests that vulnerable patients, in this case, the dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare, can benefit from meal delivery programs.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: To prevent or delay the onset of underage alcohol and tobacco use by encouraging healthy beliefs and attitudes about abstaining from substance use and by enhancing critical thinking skills to transform students into active media consumers.

Impact: Students who participated in the Media Detective program displayed a greater understanding of media deconstruction skills and persuasive intent. They also had greater self-efficacy to refuse substances compared to students who did not participate in the program.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens

Goal: The goals of this program are to establish a single application for school-based youth prevention programs; provide a common language and approach for parent, community, and student health programs; and reinforce prevention messages from a variety of sources.

Impact: Students who received the Michigan Model curriculum had significantly better health outcomes in several areas: social and emotional health, interpersonal skills, aggressive behavior, safety attitudes and skills, physical activity skills, nutrition behavior, drug refusal skills, recent alcohol and tobacco use, and intentions to use alcohol and smoke cigarettes.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The program's mission is to help prepare children of migrant workers in California to be successful in school.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Families

Goal: The goal of the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) is to help families transition to economic stability by providing financial incentives to work.

Impact: Although MFIP cost Minnesota more than the ADFC welfare program, MFIP overall increased employment and wage earnings of participants by supplementing low income with welfare supplements. Most encouragingly, there is evidence to suggest the effects of the program persist after the program ended for the most disadvantaged.

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Women

Goal: To reduce sexual and drug use behaviors among recently incarcerated, HIV-negative women at risk for HIV.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education, Teens

Goal: The mission of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is to intervene in the lives of high-school dropouts and provide them with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed.

Impact: The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program resulted in participants succeeding in several aspects of their lives compared to their control group counterparts. Program participants were more likely to have a GED certificate, more likely to have started college, and more likely to be working.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use

Goal: The goal of this program is to effectively treat substance abuse by using the patient's social support network to support abstinence.

Impact: Among Network Therapy clients, 64.5% of all samples submitted were negative for opioids, compared with 45.3% of all samples submitted by medication maintenance clients. Furthermore, 88% of urine samples were negative for cocaine for Network Therapy participants, compared with 66% of urine samples collected from treatment-as-usual clients.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education, Adults

Goal: The goal of the program is to enhance services to unemployment insurance (UI) claimants and connecting to reemployment opportunities by collaborating efforts between Employment Services (ES) and Unemployment Insurance to be provided at the same time. This collaborative helps customer service by making follow-up easier and build rapport with the customers. Additionally, it sought to save time by cutting out the middle man and saving money by combining both the National Reemployment Services (RES) and Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) initiatives.

Impact: REA participants received 3.13 fewer weeks of benefits compared to control group peers and received $536 less in regular UI benefits. Program participants were 20 times more likely to obtain employment in the first 2 quarters after program entry.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the New Communities Program is to strengthen communities from within through planning, organizing, and human development.