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, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women, Urban
Goal: The mission of MOMS Orange County is to help mothers and their families have healthy babies by providing health coordination, education, and access to community services. MOMS Orange County’s vision is that all babies born in Orange County are healthy at birth.
Impact: Measures such as the percent of babies born at a low birth weight, percent of babies born premature, and the percent of babies admitted to the NICU were all markedly better for program participants when compared to many comparison benchmarks.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults
Goal: To use tai chi exercise to improve balance and decrease incidence of falls among older adults.
Impact: The program shows that ta chi can significantly improve health-related outcome measures in older adults and such a program can be practically and effectively implemented and maintained in community settings.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Families
Goal: The programs’ mission is to inform and inspire parents and all who care about children so that every child may be happy, healthy, and thrive.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Domestic Violence & Abuse, Families, Urban
Goal: The program works to counsel and assist domestic violence victims by providing them with information about available resources and services, as well as their legal and other options. They also offer medical assistance and emergency shelter, including transportation to the shelter. Through legal advocacy and education, DVERT teams work to reduce domestic violence in Santa Barbara County.
Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families
Goal: The program's goal is to create free, high-quality preschool opportunities for children in California and help guide efforts to create a statewide preschool system.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Children, Families
Goal: Effective asthma control can improve quality of life, reduce medical costs, and reduce the number of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, school and work days missed, days of restricted activity, and deaths each year.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Adults
Goal: The goal of Project ReConnect is to enable HIV-positive people to explore career, educational, and volunteer activities and to de-stigmatize HIV through education and advocacy.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity
Goal: To promote optimal nutritional and physical health for Sonoma County residents, especially children, by increasing the capacity of residents to make informed and healthy food choices.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Goal: The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition aims to use the Toxics Release Inventory data to reduce pollution.
Best Practices of Mayors and Their City Governments in Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity (Santa Clarita, CA)
Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families
Goal: The goals of the program are to: 1) reduce crime and improve public safety; 2) improve police-citizen cooperation and communication; 3) improve law enforcement responsiveness to members of the community; and 4) increase quality of life and increase police and citizen's ability to creatively solve community problems.