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 Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Teen Health Project is to provide adolescents with the skills necessary to prevent HIV risk behaviors.
Impact: The Teen Health Project shows that community-level interventions that include skills training and engage adolescents in neighborhood-based HIV prevention activities can produce and maintain reductions in sexual risk behavior, including delaying sexual debut and increasing condom use.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: The goal of tribal motor vehicle injury prevention programs is to reduce disparities in rates of motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths.
Impact: Projects to increase motor vehicle safety on tribal reservations increased seat belt use among drivers, increased use of child safety seats, and decreased motor vehicle crashes.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Families, Urban
Goal: Managed through the Child and Adolescent Services Branch of the Milwaukee County Mental Health Division in Wisconsin, Wraparound Milwaukee attempts to meet the mental heath, substance abuse, social service, and other supportive needs of the most complex youths in the Milwaukee community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Adults, Women, Men, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To partner within communities and organizations to train professionals, community and parent leaders so the “Best Start” program can reach and support all families, but especially marginalized or struggling families and communities; to build the strong family/home, school and community environments that are necessary to support positive mental health, confidence, resilience and hope to achieve health equity, academic and economic opportunities for positive futures for all.
The Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation (CCWF) mission is for every child and adolescent to be supported in positive development by caregivers and professionals within loving, non-violent families and peaceful communities. Through parent groups and educational workshops we strive to promote a sense of community and foster empathy.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Older Adults, Families
Goal: This program seeks to encourage low-income elderly, families, and youth to learn about nutrition through research-based education programs. It offers advice on how to eat healthy foods on a limited budget.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Women, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Goal: To eliminate or reduce sexual transmission risk behavior, to eliminate or reduce injection drug use risks and to improve health care practices and quality of life among people living with HIV.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alternative Medicine, Older Adults
Goal: HeartStrings aims to enhance the quality of life for individuals with special needs. Through regularly-recurring, interactive sessions, the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet addresses the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of hundreds of individuals each year in a comfortable and familiar setting.
HeartStrings mission statement is as follows:
1) To enhance the quality of life of underserved populations through live, interactive, and exceptional quality musical experiences that are informed by the American Music Therapy Association’s Standards of Practice.
2) To bring meaningful arts experiences directly to participants in a comfortable and
familiar setting.
3) To provide a valuable resource for facilities that serve aging populations, adults with dementia, and individuals with disabilities, or long-term illnesses.
Impact: HeartStrings has reached over 3,200 individuals with disabilities, long-term illness, and assisted-living needs, as well as aging adults with dementia since its start in 2006.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Families
Goal: The goal of this program is to assist low-income households in obtaining a personal vehicle.
Impact: Among other improvements, the 4-year graduation rate for Menominee Indian High School increased from less than 60% in 2008 to 92% for the 2015-16 school year.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults
Goal: New Hope provided full-time workers with several benefits: an earnings supplement to raise their income above poverty, low-cost health insurance, and subsidized child care. For those unable to find full-time work, the program offered help in finding a job and referral to a wage-paying community service job when necessary.