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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.

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Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: NFTE's mission is to motivate young people from low-income communities to stay in school, learn about entrepreneurship, and plan for successful futures.

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 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.

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Public Safety, Teens, Families, Urban

Goal: The mission of New Directions for Youth is to provide comprehensive programs that help at-risk youth become productive, self-sufficient and healthy young adults, and create supportive family environments.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Families

Goal: NEXUS intends to provide the collaboration & communication needed for consumers to recover from alcohol and other drug abuse issues in a positive, supportive and nurturing environment.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Northern Manhattan Start Right Coalition is to increase the timely vaccination coverage rate for the 4:3:1:3:3 series for children ages 19 to 35 months.

Impact: The Start Right Coalition increased timely vaccination coverage from 63.0% in 2002 to 96.8% in 2007.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families

Goal: The Northern Michigan Diabetes Initiative is a regional collaboration dedicated to prevention, early detection, and management of diabetes. The Healthy Family Backpack Program connects with youth and their parents to educate participants on proper nutrition and promote healthy lifestyles to reduce childhood obesity.

Impact: The Northern Michigan Diabetes Initiative has distributed nutritional education materials to over 300 families. Of ninety-two families that set a healthy goal at the start of the program, forty-five continued to maintain that goal at the two-month mark.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of the Nurturing Fathers Program is to teach men parenting and nurturing skills.

Impact: Thousands of fathers have benefited from the Nurturing Fathers Program. The program has been successfully implemented by non-profit organizations as well as federal, state, and municipal government entities.

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families

Goal: The long-term goals of this program are to decrease the rate of recidivism in families receiving social services, lower the rate of multiparent teenage pregnancies, reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency and alcohol abuse, and stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Families

Goal: To increase dietary variety, decrease the intake of saturated fat and increase the intake of vegetables during the main meal among families with financial problems.