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, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Children
The mission of the Banking on Our Future (BOOF) program is to execute a global delivery system for financial education for youth ages 9-18 at no cost to school districts, with a focus on urban, under-served communities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
1. Carry out a multi-agency law enforcement (suppression) strategy to reduce gun-related and other violent crimes committed by youths 17 and older.
2. Operate an intensive intervention program to reduce the risk factors for the highest risk youths, their families, and the community.
3. Mobilize the community at the grassroots level to address the problems of hard-to-reach families and the highest risk youths.
4. Operate a long-range prevention program that identifies, links, and strengthens existing resources to serve youths who may be at risk.
- Train staff on broad spectrum of strategies to improve nutrition and physical activity, and reduce health inequities.
- Develop regional collaborations of public health departments, organizations, coalitions and communities to participate in a comprehensive approach to improve nutrition and physical activity.
- Develop a media advocacy campaign to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public about key issues of nutrition and physical activity, and their link to chronic disease and health inequities.
- Use the regional platform to achieve changes in institutional practices and public policies, and increase support for public health.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Children, Teens, Urban
The goal is to guide students from underserved communities towards careers in healthcare, simultaneously fulfilling workforce needs.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban
The goal of the program is to reduce chronic disease health disparities by making the healthy choice the easy choice.
The Bayview HEAL Zone has brought together a variety of organizations and supported healthy eating and active living projects in the community.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Food Safety, Children, Teens, Adults, Families
The goal of Be Food Safe is to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness by instructing consumers in proper procedures for handling and preparing food.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Urban
The curricula aim to increase participants' knowledge about the risks of various behaviors and educate participants on how condoms and/or abstinence can effectively be used to lower those risks.
Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Teens, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The mission of Beats & Rhymes is to provide schools and community centers with the knowledge and resources they need to implement their own successful program, and subsequent music group.
Beats & Rhymes teaches youth music-making skills through implementation in various Minneapolis after-school programs.
Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation / Libraries & Museums, Families, Rural
The preservation and restoration of the Ben Schroeder Saddletree Factory aims to contribute to the overall economic and cultural development of the community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Families
Currently, the average U.S. family spends nearly $1,300 a year on energy bills, with much of that energy being wasted due to air leaks, inefficient appliances, and a general lack of attention to this important issue. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are dedicated to educating the community association industry--and the significant portion of the U.S. population it represents--on the many ways to increase the energy efficiency of their homes, and thereby reduce both energy consumption and costs.