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
Goal: Florida started the drug court movement by creating the first treatment-based drug court in the nation in 1989. The drug court concept was developed in Dade County (Miami, Florida) stemming from a federal mandate to reduce the inmate population or suffer the loss of federal funding. The Supreme Court of Florida recognized the severity of the situation and directed Judge Herbert Klein to research the problem. Judge Klein determined that a large majority of criminal inmates had been incarcerated because of drug charges and were revolving back through the criminal justice system because of underlying problems of drug addiction. It was decided that the delivery of treatment services needed to be coupled with the criminal justice system and the need for strong judicial leadership and partnerships to bring treatment services and the criminal justice system together.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Children, Adults, Families
Goal: The program’s goal is to increase access to health care by assisting children and their families in Los Angeles County to enroll in health coverage programs and utilize and retain these benefits.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the PATH Program is to improve knowledge of cardiovascular health and reduce risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
Goal: The goals of this project are:
- to increase knowledge of nutrition among Hispanic elders who are at risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity;
- to foster behavior change through group sessions and interactive activities; and
- to test whether the American Heart Association guidelines and materials can be utilized in a dietitian led model targeted to Hispanic elders.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: Project Access Durham County seeks to provide comprehensive healthcare to low-income, uninsured individuals residing in the county for at least six months.
Reducing Health Disparities: Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Contra Costa (Contra Costa County, CA)
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to eliminate health disparities among the diverse patient population in Contra Costa County by improving access to services for people who are not comfortable speaking English, and by increasing the cultural and linguistic competence of staff in order to have a workforce capable of working effectively with diverse patients, clients, customers and communities.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Wildlife, Rural
Goal: The goal of the acquisition of Sentenac Canyon and Cienega was to protect the land from development and preserve its wildlife habitats.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Older Adults, Adults, Older Adults
Goal: The goal of The Bridge Model of Transitional Care is to help aging adults transition from the hospital back to their homes and communities safely.
Impact: The Bridge Model of Transitional Care can help lower hospital re-admission rates as well as improve primary care engagement 30 days after being discharged from the hospital.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Goal: The aim of the Montana Model is to provide health care to the 11 percent of the county citizens living below the federal poverty level and the many more living in near poverty, while simultaneously providing a medical clinic with diversity and complexity for family practice residents to obtain enriched training with the public health perspective.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes
Goal: The mission of this organization is to provide services for eligible citizens that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, promote upward mobility, and enrich the quality of life.