California ACH Week brings together the stories, partnerships and purpose behind California’s 36 Accountable Communities for Health (ACH). This page explains what ACHs are, how the statewide ACH network works, and how CACHI supports ACH communities across California.
An Accountable Community for Health (ACH) is a standing partnership where residents, community organizations, clinics, hospitals, schools, county agencies and other local partners work together to identify shared priorities and make decisions to support the health and well being of their communities.
Because every community is different, ACHs are inherently different from one another and evolve locally to meet their communities unique needs. What connects them is a common approach: shared governance, cross-sector collaboration, community leadership and sustained work on the conditions that shape health.
The California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI) is the statewide organization that strengthens California’s ACH network through statewide and regional convenings, peer learning, technical assistance, policy work and evaluation. CACHI also creates opportunities for ACHs across the state to bring lessons from local communities into broader conversations with state agencies, managed care plans, and health systems to inform and help shape the future of health in California.
Over ten years, California's ACHs have grown from a pilot cohort into a connected statewide network. With 36 ACHs across 27 California counties, what one community learns travels to the others and strengthens the model, and local voices collectively carry into statewide conversations about health. Today, with more than 1,000 cross-sector organizations engaged statewide, more than 20 Medi-Cal managed care plans and over $30 million in public and private funding aligned to support community health and prevention, the network is becoming a movement that can advance community health at a scale no single ACH could
reach alone.
Over the past decade, California has built CACHI and the ACH network through key milestones, growing from a pilot to a statewide movement for healthier, more equitable communities.
Pilot cohort of ACHs launched
ACH-driven systems change documented
ACHs coordinate local rapid response to COVID-19 and natural disaster emergencies.
State allocates funding to scale ACHs
Expansion to 36 ACHs statewide
Accelerating impact as statewide infrastructure for community health and well-being
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“Communities already have the knowledge, relationships and leadership to understand what is happening locally and what needs to change. ACHs help turn that local knowledge into coordinated action across sectors.”
Executive Director, CACHI
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