Visioning Change

Purpose of the Initiative

Established in 2007, Visioning Change is a statewide leadership group - composed of representatives from state and local health agencies, consumers, community organizations, research institutions, funders, and other stakeholders - that works to build statewide consensus on developing strategies and policies to ensure ongoing and improved integrated prevention and care services for HIV/AIDS in a context of growing demand and shrinking resources. Visioning Change will fill an urgent and unmet need for a high-level statewide planning process that can enhance statewide HIV planning and decision-making; shape new local and statewide responses to the epidemic; increase planning and coordination with non-HIV-specific entities; and expand and enhance California's national HIV leadership role.

Background

Established in 2007 as a 3-year initiative, Visioning Change grew out of an earlier 3-year project called "Managing Scarcity."  Managing Scarcity was initiated by AIDS Partnership California to identify ways to address the growing needs for HIV care and prevention in the State of California in a context of shrinking financial resources. Managing Scarcity played a critical role in supporting a California response to the federal Ryan White Care Act Reauthorization process in 2007, and the need to make a continuing commitment to visioning new policies and strategies to meet the state needs was identified.

When APC became a program of CHRP in 2007, a new initiative, Visioning Change, was launched. Like Managing Scarcity, Visioning Change receives support from statewide funders including Evelyn and Walter Hass Jr Fund, Sutter Health, , and the State Office of AIDS. Current activities include:

  1. Development of a statewide consensus statement/response to Federal policy proposals that may be put forth to reauthorize or replace the Ryan White Care Act in 2009.
  2. New integrated models of prevention and care for HIV that maximize services for Californians at risk for infection, or already infected with HIV.