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Social security administration has attracted little interest in academic circles despite its self-evident importance. Housing benefit is the only major social security scheme administered by local government and the apparent inability of some local authorities effectively to operate the scheme continues to attract media attention. In the absence of standardised local authority records an index of administrative performance was developed based on the subjective assessments of local officials. The analysis suggests that caseload composition and factors in the interactional environment are more important determinants of administrative performance (measured in this way) than are resource inputs.

In 2009, 4 major bushfires destroyed vast areas of Gippsland in eastern Victoria including the areas around Delburn, Bunyip, Churchill and Wilsons Promontory. These are collectively known as the 2009 Gippsland bushfires. Research was conducted to investigate the psychosocial recovery of young adults in these areas. Twenty young adults participated in the study and, while these young adults are not an homogenous group, commonalities were identified across their stories. Asked what would have helped their recovery, the participants all said that acknowledgment of their personal and age-specific needs was the single most important factor that enabled or impeded recovery. This paper describes some of their stories. The paper looks at how participants viewed acknowledgment and the effects of its absence on their psychosocial recovery and how they felt unacknowledged in local recovery supports. The paper reports on the findings of this research and suggests an approach for management and longer-term recovery support that is inclusive of the specific needs of young adults.

Sustainable basic training in emergency dental care. Moving to Phase 2 - Training the Trainer in East Africa Julie Williams*, School of Oral and Dental Sciences, University of Bristol Kiaran Weil, Educational Supervisor, HENW Katherine Wilson, Newcastle School of Dental Sciences Background: Bridge2Aid, a charitable organisation based in Tanzania, runs dental volunteer programmes (DVP) , where UK dentists train rural-based health workers (RHW) to provide emergency dental care to their communities. To date 337 workers have been trained and supplied with basic dental kit, once competent. Summary of work: A pilot programme aimed at providing senior Tanzanian district dental officers (DDO) with the skills necessary to train RHWs in emergency dental care, was conducted. A curriculum and assessment programme was developed and delivered by senior Bridge2Aid mentors in 2 phases : - 2-day pedagogical theory and practical training, using video clips and small group teaching - 9-day clinical training delivered to 7 RHWs with one-to-one mentoring by Tanzanian and Bridge2Aid trainers. A further 9-day programme, training 7 more RHWs was conducted to assess trainer skills retention and programme effectiveness. Summary of results: 4 DDOs and 2 Bridge2Aid Trainers successfully provided training for 14 RHWs to Bridge2Aid's standards. Trainers retained sufficient skills to lead the second programme. Feedback was positive from RHWs, patients, trainers and mentors. Discussion: Training the trainers proved effective but it is essential to have full support from local Government to release trainers from clinical duties to attend the course. Conclusion: Despite no previous experience senior dental personnel developed the necessary skills to lead a training programme effectively. Take home messages: Over 75% of the world's population has no access to emergency dental treatment. Emergency dental treatment training for medically qualified rural health workers can provide sustainable access for rural communities.

The likelihood that learned skills will be maintained in natural performance settings may be affected by the number of opportunities to perform the skills following acquisition. To examine this hypothesis, 17 high school students with moderate to severe mental retardation were selected from three public school classrooms. Each student had learned one adaptive skill that he or she had performed at least twice per month without additional training for 5 months prior to this study (high opportunity). Each student had also learned one adaptive skill that he or she had not performed more often than once per month over the 5 months immediately preceding the study (low opportunity). Performance of both behaviors was probed under conditions as similar as possible to those experienced during training. Twelve of the 17 high opportunity skills were performed successfully while only 4 of the 17 low opportunity skills were completed. A sign test indicated these differences to be statistically significant. Implications of the results for selection of IEP goals and the inclusion of "opportunity" objectives are discussed.

The effects of general case instruction for teaching street crossing to individuals with moderate and severe mental retardation were examined. Three dependent variables were assessed within a multiple baseline probe design across subjects. The first measure was performance across a group of 20 nontrained streets systematically selected to represent the range of street crossing situations encountered in the subjects' home town. The second dependent variable was performance across 20 additional nontrained streets selected individually for each subject by parents or guardians as particularly relevant in the subject's daily life. The third dependent variable was the number of training trials to criterion. Two subjects completed training with the third serving as a no-treatment control. Results support the effectiveness and efficiency of general case instruction for teaching subjects to cross nontrained streets. Implications for further research on generalization and for instructional programming in the community are addressed.

Teachers often provide classroom based instruction on the assumption that behaviors learned in the classroom will be performed in natural settings. The present study examines this assumption by comparing the effectiveness of three strategies for purchasing grocery store items with four high school students labeled moderately or severely retarded. Students were trained to negotiate payment to the cashier by (a) role playing in the classroom with flashcards designating the amount of purchase, (b) role playing in the classroom with slides of cash registers at different amounts, or (c) role playing with the slides and in vivo training in one store. A multiple baseline design across subjects indicates afunctional relationship between the combined slide and in vivo strategy and correct performance across a range of nontrained probe stores. Neither role playing strategy alone was successful at teaching a generalized purchasing skill. The data are discussed in terms of research implications for studying generalization and instructional recommendations for teachers.

ABSTRACTBackground:The number of adults with developmental and acquired disabilities is growing and there are not enough general dentists treating special needs patients to meet the increased demand. In Oakland County, there are 140,160 persons registered with a developmental or acquired disability and only 36 dentists in the county that are indicated for treating patients with special needs.Methods:A survey was sent to 385 students, ages 3 to 26, at six special education schools and developmental centers in Oakland County. There were 117 responses.Results:The most difficult barrier to oral healthcare that adult patients with special needs, encounter is finding a dentist willing to treat these complex patients. 20% of the surveyed population currently does not have a dentist. There is a correlation between decreased dental access and lower median income.Conclusions:There is a significant need for improving special care dentistry training and increasing the number of general dentists that are able and willing to treat adults with special needs. Adequate resources and a database can help caregivers, parents, and medical professionals locate dentists who treat special needs patients. Increased experience for general dentists through residency training and continuing education courses will help to increase confidence and knowledge in practice special care dentistry.