About Px21
Px21 is the coordinating council of prevention service providers in Erie County with the shared goal of providing prevention and health promotion for the 21st century in our community. “Px” is shorthand for “prevention,” while “21” places the group’s focus in the 21st century.
The group, originally known as Px20, was a direct outcome of a year-long process initiated by the Erie County Department of Mental Health (which oversees most prevention funding in Erie County, New York) to develop a multi-year comprehensive prevention plan incorporating data-driven decision making and evidence-based practices into a local framework.
The process included the examination of a large body of data on the distribution of substance abuse risk factors and impacts. See the Comprehensive Plan for more information on the development of the plan, the mission of prevention, guiding principles for prevention programs (including environmental prevention), system collaboration and development, system impact, and career enrichment.
Our mission.
Mission Statement: Building healthier individuals, families, and communities in Erie County and WNY utilizing prevention science.
System goal.
To promote healthy behaviors, to delay use, and prevent abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD), and to prevent the onset of mental illness and unhealthy problem behaviors (including, but not limited to gambling, violence, and other anti-social behaviors).
Target populations.
- Implement programs that cover the entire population of Erie County, New York
- Implement programs for targeted (selective, indicated), higher-risk populations
Strategic priorities.
- Build organizational capacity
- Enhance prevention credibility
- Promote science-based prevention
- Increase resources available for prevention
The following themes will be woven into the work that is designed around each of the strategic priorities:
- Overcoming stigma education in all we do
- Systems engagement
Prevention resources.
- Sustained investment in professional development (e.g., training, implementation of evidence-based programs, retention, support for producing data to show program accountability, assessment of system capacity, enhancement of organizational capacity, etc.) for the entire prevention field including individuals and organizations.
- Invest in cost-effective programs (cost per person served) while recognizing that higher-risk populations require commensurate resources.
Reference materials.
This portal provides access to a wealth of information about the distribution of OASAS-funded prevention services provided throughout Erie County as well as data and analytics that support system-level decision-making and evaluation of impacts and outcomes.
