About Px20

Px20 is the coordinating council of prevention service providers formed as part of implementing the “Comprehensive Prevention Plan: Erie County Department of Mental Health 2009-2012” to enhance coordinated, collaborative prevention activities in Erie County.

“Px” is shorthand for “prevention”, while “20” places the group’s focus in the 21st century by allowing continuing initiatives to be labeled Px2010, Px2011, and so on.

The Px20 group is 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 that incorporates 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. The “Comprehensive Prevention Plan: Erie County Department of Mental Health 2009-2012” consists of nine sections including 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.