RETAIN Extension Project

Abstract - RETAIN Statement of the Problem: Each year, millions of workers experience on and off the job injuries or illnesses that remove them from the workforce. These workers may move from short-term to long-term disability benefits, culminating at the federal disability Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) rolls, and never returning to the workforce. This negatively impacts the economic outlook for employers who are faced with employee turnover arising from vacant positions, lost productivity and resulting decreased output. The main driver of the cost of disability to employers and to society as a whole is the number of days, weeks, month, and years that workers lose to disability. Unemployment for Americans with disabilities is also a public health crisis that arises from household economic instability and results in disparities across life outcomes including health, community integration, and economic self-sufficiency. Employers have a financial interest in returning injured and ill workers to their jobs as soon as possible, and maintaining workers with disabilities, even with on-the-job accommodations, to further reduce turnover, which is widely acknowledged as the most costly personnel expense for today's employers. Quality early intervention strategies can influence outcomes for a worker with a disability. The Phase I pilot will apply tried and true best practices in return to work and workers compensation to help people with mid-career disabilities continue working rather than receiving progressively permanent disability benefits. Strategies - Pilot: The target population for the project are those workers who experience an injury or illness, off the job. Location of Phase I pilot efforts will be focused in KentuckianaWorks region, while planning for scale up in Phase II. The project will feature individualized in-person consultation from return-to-work specialists coupled with a technology-based electronic referral and consultation system that provides real time assistance. Use of proven telehealth delivery platforms will be essential here.