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.
Home Again: A Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County (Portland and Multnomah County, OR)
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Urban
The goal of this program is to end homelessness in the City of Portland and Multnomah County by 2015. As efforts to end homelessness continue, city and county officials will focus on nine actions. Programs throughout the county will address moving people into Housing First, ending the practice of discharging people into homelessness from jails and hospitals, improving outreach, emphasizing permanent solutions, increasing the housing supply, creating new partnerships, improving the rent assistance system, increasing economic opportunity for homeless people and implementing new data collection technology.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
HIPPY programs empower parents as primary educators of their children in the home and foster parent involvement in school and community life to maximize the chances of successful early school experiences.
Through 20 years of research, the HIPPY model has proven to be effective in improving school readiness, parent involvement in students' academic lives, school attendance, classroom behavior, and overall academic performance.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families
The goal of this program is to prevent the unnecessary out-of-home placement of children through intensive, on-site intervention, and to teach families new problem-solving skills to prevent future crises.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Children, Women, Families, Urban
The Homeless Prenatal Program works with families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by providing prenatal and parenting support, family finances and stability, and basic needs services.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The goal of the HORIZONS program is to reduce sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly HIV, by increasing condom use and partner communication about safer sex.
The HORIZONS program empowered African American female adolescents to pursue safer sex and reduced the number of STDs among those in the program.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Urban
Humanim's mission is to identify those in greatest need and provide uncompromising human services.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Children, Families, Urban
The goal of this immunization case management intervention is to improve immunization rates among infants of low-income, urban, African American families.
Immunization case management increased the knowledge of immunization schedules, rate of well-child visits, and up-to-date immunization rate for children of participating families.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Adults, Older Adults
The goal of IMPACT is to improve depression treatment by providing collaborative care to older adults.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Children, Families
The goals of this program are to support healthy child development, to provide economic assistance and social services to families, and to protect abused and neglected children.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Housing & Homes, Families
Interfaith Housing Alliance strengthens families, builds communities and promotes human dignity and economic justice by providing decent, affordable housing for those with lower incomes. Through education, advocacy and the creation of new jobs, they foster economic growth and overcome the effects of shelter poverty.