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, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Rural
Goal: The primary goal of the Independence Youth Court is to reduce incidents of juvenile crime, divert offending youth from the Juvenile Justice System and to provide an alternative to the Jackson County Family court process and further contact with the police.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to divert young first-time offenders from court into a restorative justice process in which the offender and victim negotiate a satisfactory solution.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families
Goal: Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Family Planning, Women
Goal: The goal of this program is to provide reproductive health care services to women and men in the Denver STD clinic.
Impact: Enrollment in family planning services increased significantly. Among women returning within 12 months, pregnancies were lower among enrolled versus non-enrolled women. Total additional cost was $29.95/visit, and 40.1 minutes of additional staff time.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens
Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent recidivism among juvenile offenders placed on probation for known gang-related behavior or substance abuse offenses.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: Interface's sustainability goals involve reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, reducing non-renewable energy use, and increasing renewable energy use in their production process.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Children
Goal: The purpose of the Interlocal Association's (IA) Youth with Disabilities Project was to support demonstration projects to help Workforce Investment Act (WIA)-assisted youth programs develop the capacity to serve youth with disabilities. Although youth with disabilities had been served under previous employment and training programs during the latter years of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), with the implementation of WIA, services such as work experience, summer employment, and others decreased substantially. IA looked to expand and enhance the quality of services to youth with disabilities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: The program’s goals are to provide early intervention and greater accountability for juveniles charged with weapons offenses, help juveniles recognize and use nonviolent means to promote their safety and preserve their self-esteem, and effectively deliver the message that gun violence hurts victims, families, and communities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to assist low-income households in obtaining a personal vehicle.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children
Goal: The goal of the Jumpstart program is to build language and social skills in preschool children by providing one-on-one mentoring with college students throughout the school year.