In November, 1990 The Albuquerque Partnership was formed and seventeen (17) agencies committed to the implementation of a five year comprehensive plan in which the community would collaboratively develop strategies to prevent substance abuse in the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan area. In July 1991 the City of Albuquerque, named lead agency in the grant, was funded for multi-year funding (5 years) with a reapplication process.

The Albuquerque Partnership proposed to devote the first nine months to strengthening the Partnership by providing training, workshops, and education on developing inter-organizational collaboration. It committed to providing outreach services in an attempt to involve other organizations addressing related high-risk behaviors. A community-wide needs assessment and a drug and alcohol incidence and prevalence study was conducted to determine the specifics of the five year comprehensive plan. A database illustrating the magnitude of problems and issues affecting the well-being of individuals began to be formed as a means of assessing the needs of the community and as a means of targeting prevention efforts.

A clear need for collaboration of services and resources, the reduction of duplication of services and a need to focus prevention efforts in neighborhoods were identified. The major focus of APSAP was directed toward assisting local community based groups in the Albuquerque Metropolitan area develop strategies based on particular needs and resources to prevent substance abuse, provide technical assistance, training, resources, and educational materials for the implementation of prevention programs.