The diploma in social work requires its students to develop a greater awareness of alcohol-related problems. The first few chapters of this book examine the implications of recent community care legislation for government policy on alcohol; the prevalence of drinking problems amongst older people, which has been under-estimated; and recent research is reviewed on young people's drinking problems. In the second half of the book, empirical evidence is presented on the particular difficulties faced by ethnic, migrant and homeless groups and this emphasis on the centrality of social disadvantage leads on to a consideration of a specific social work role in the assessment and management of alcohol-related problems. The book is aimed at social work practitioners and students on prequalifying, qualifying and postqualifying social work courses, and it addresses key social work issues in relation to poverty, homelessness, discrimination and drinking problems.