Out of around 900 social workers questioned on the subject, 89 per cent felt leaving training on this issue until after the core degree was too late.
The education working group of the Social Work Reform Board is currently reviewing the content and delivery of the curriculum for social work. As part of this, it will be considering whether there needs to be more emphasis on certain issues including drug, alcohol and substance misuse training in the core social work degree.
Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "Time and again social work staff have called for more support and training to deal with the alcohol and drug issues their clients face. We know that one third of social workers say they receive no training on substance misuse issues, which is very worrying. With over half of serious case reviews involving alcohol, drugs or mental health issues, it is vital that core training for social workers includes robust training on these issues."
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