Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)

The RETAIN—Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network—Initiative promotes closer coordination among individuals and organizations who influence workers' decisions about how or whether to stay at or return to work after a work disability. RETAIN programs implement early intervention strategies to improve stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) outcomes of individuals who experience a work disability while employed.

SAW/RTW programs succeed by returning injured or ill workers to productive work as soon as medically possible. RETAIN programs target individuals with work-related or non-work-related injuries and illnesses who are employed or at a minimum in the labor force when the injury or illness occur.

Early coordination of health care and employment services is key to RETAIN programs. These services include:​​

• Training in occupational health best practices for participating health providers​
• Active involvement of a RTW Coordinator throughout the medical recovery period to facilitate continued employment​
• Enhanced communication among workers, employers, and health care providers​
• Accommodations and job modifications​
• Retraining and rehabilitation services​

RETAIN programs provide services through an integrated network of partners that includes close collaboration between health care systems and/or providers, state workforce development board and local employment service providers, employers or industry organizations, and, of course, worker or disability advocacy representatives.

In April 2021, the Department awarded funds for Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Vermont to build upon their work in RETAIN Phase 1. Phase 2 spans four years, during which states will continue to receive programmatic technical assistance and will participate in an independent evaluation. See the full announcement here.