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 Good Idea, Economy / Housing & Homes
The mission of AHC is twofold: to preserve the supply of affordable housing in the mid-Atlantic region, especially Northern Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland; and to ensure that properties developed or owned by AHC enhance the quality of life in the neighborhoods where they are located.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Women, Urban
The mission of Sheffield Place is "to empower homeless mothers and their children to heal from their trauma and help them become self-sufficient." The goal of the Aftercare program is to provide continuing supportive services once the families have transitioned from the residential program to permanent housing in the community. In this way, the families receive the support they need to maintain or increase income, maintain or improve mental health functioning, and maintain permanent housing.
This program provides vital supportive services for formerly-homeless families in recovery. Sheffield Place grew from serving just 20 families in 2010 to serving 132 families in 2017 (102 in residential and 30 in aftercare).
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens
The goal of ART® is to improve social skill competence, anger control, and moral reasoning.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alternative Medicine
The goal of the AIDS Care Project is to provide acupuncture therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens
The mission of this program is to provide services that allow both victims and offenders to participate in a process where both parties have a sense of restored wholeness in their lives and in their communities. This wholeness is manifested when parties are feeling a sense of safety and trust in their communities and in their relationships with self and others. It is the goal of this organization to provide a sense of justice that repairs the damage done and restores relationships, both personal and communal, to their original state to the extent possible.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
The goal of this program is to involve community partners in reviewing individual deaths, generating recommendations for improved community collaboration, and initiating new practices.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens
The goal of the Alive & Free Prescription is to keep youth unharmed by violence and free from incarceration, and to provide youth with the support and opportunities to build positive lives that contribute to society.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Teens
The goal of All Stars programs is to prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug use, postpone sexual activity, and reduce fighting and bullying among adolescents.
When teachers implemented the program, there were significant reductions in the use of alcohol, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and inhalants. The program also had a significant effect in changing normative beliefs, lifestyle incongruence, commitment to school, impulsive decision-making, and sensation-seeking behavior.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Cancer
The American Brain Tumor Association exists to eliminate brain tumors through research and to meet the needs of brain tumor patients and their families.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Urban
Anchorage Youth Court gives youth offenders personal accountability; youth attorneys good training and the opportunity to make a significant difference in others' lives; and the public an effective and comprehensive public safety system.