Since the inception of the Act, planning councils have been establishing service and resource-allocation priorities, goals and objectives for each grant year. However, comprehensive HIV services planning goes beyond annual service or resource-allocation. Comprehensive planning should result in a road map for the incremental development of a system of care over the longer term.
Comprehensive planning grapples with a complex set of service delivery issues.
It examines HIV care needs for the entire community or State and assesses all available resources and barriers. Comprehensive planning activities begin with and build upon epidemiologic and needs assessment information developed for Title I grant applications. Most important, the comprehensive plan sets out long-term goals by outlining the vision and values that will guide the community's system of care. A vision and values statement will also help to determine how the community will make difficult choices with limited resources. Expectations Planning is central to the goals of the CARE Act, but the legislation does not specifically define comprehensive planning.