Creating Continuity in Prevention: The Science, Evidence, and Statewide Implementation of PAX Across Schools, Communities, Homes, and Recovery Settings

Session Description: This presentation will provide an overview of the prevention science underlying PAX and its role in promoting resilience by fostering nurturing environments, psychological flexibility, self-regulation, social connectedness, and other protective factors associated with reduced risk for substance use and behavioral health challenges. Decades of research demonstrate the effectiveness of PAX strategies in improving behavioral, educational, mental health, and long-term prevention outcomes. As a flexible and scalable prevention framework, PAX has been adapted for use across home, school, community, and recovery settings, creating continuity in prevention efforts and a common language for promoting well-being across systems. Participants will learn how PAX can be integrated into existing programs and services to strengthen prevention capacity without requiring new service models. Arizona and Oklahoma's statewide implementation of PAX will be presented as case studies showcasing cross-sector partnerships, implementation successes, challenges, and lessons learned from scaling prevention efforts across diverse settings. Attendees will leave with a review of national and international outcomes and a clear understanding of how PAX serves as a sustainable, population-level strategy for advancing prevention, resilience, and recovery.