RETAIN Kentucky Impact Evaluation

The Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) demonstration is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to improve employment outcomes for individuals who experience injuries or illnesses that put them at risk of exiting the labor force and relying on disability programs and other public supports in the long term. RETAIN projects include a combination of medical provider services, stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) coordination services, and other SAW/RTW services. This evaluation will focus on The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet's implementation of "RETAIN KY" statewide. The evaluation will document how the project is implemented, describe enrollees, estimate the project's impacts on enrollees' outcomes, and assess whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

SSA contracted with Mathematica to conduct an independent evaluation of RETAIN Kentucky. Under the RETAIN model medical providers receive training and incentives to use occupational health best practices. The state agency also coordinates SAW/RTW services for the enrollee, fosters communication among RETAIN stakeholders about the treatment enrollee returning to work, and monitors the enrollee's medical and employment progress. RETAIN Kentucky also provides individualized intensive vocational services from RETAIN RTW Coordinators, with an emphasis on assistive technology, universal design, and peer support.

Kentucky uses a multi-method approach toward recruitment that includes referrals from medical providers, employers, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, workforce and disability management organizations, community partners, and word of mouth. A return-to-work (RTW) coordinator conducts intake, determines enrollees' eligibility, and randomly assigns each enrollee to either a treatment group that is eligible to receive the full set of RETAIN intervention activities or a control group that is not. The evaluation team then compares the outcomes of the two groups and gathers evidence on how each RETAIN project shaped the outcomes of enrollees who were eligible for its services, regardless of whether they participated in those services. Data sources include enrollment data, surveys, administrative records, program data, and qualitative data.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Individuals who are at risk of exiting the workforce due to non-work-related illness of injury
* Individuals who are employed or have been employed within the last 12 months and made at least $1,000 in one of those months
* Individuals who reside in the Kentucky
* Individuals must not have applied for or be receiving federal disability benefits including SSDI and SSI within the last 5 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* Individuals who are do not have a non-work-related illness or injury that puts them at risk of exiting the workforce
* Individuals who unemployed or have not been employed within the last 12 months
* Individuals who have not made at least $1,000 in the past 12 months
* Individuals who do not reside in the Kentucky
* Individuals who have applied for or be receiving federal disability benefits including SSDI and SSI within the last 5 years