This literature review describes findings from studies on various employment and training interventions to 1) assist individuals in recovery, 2) provide assistance to employers preventing opioid use disorder and creating a recovery-friendly workplace, and 3) develop the health care workforce to address the opioid crisis. The review was developed as part of an implementation evaluation of six Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grants to address the National Health Emergency (NHE) of the opioid crisis. Products form the study also include a resource guide, final report, and four short briefs on promising strategies.

As this review notes, the evidence base for employment interventions specifically aimed at or tested with people with opioid use disorder is limited and, that, while some of the approaches have been rigorously tested, others have not yet been evaluated but are seen as potentially promising practices. The research reviewed covers such approaches as:

• Intensive case management, as found in various models, such as the individual placement and support (IPS) model, a counseling model based on the interpersonal cognitive problem solving (ICPS) method; and a strategy based on the customized employment support (CES) vocational model;
• Use of "contingency management," a treatment approach that provides privileges or rewards to participants who exhibit desired behaviors;
• "Lighter-touch" employment or vocational services for people receiving substance use disorder treatment;
• Workplace prevention initiatives, employee assistance programs, recovery-friendly workplace initiatives, and modifications in workplace drug testing; and
• Innovative methods to increase the reach and breadth of training for health care professionals, strategies to support provider training on using medication-assisted treatment, and use of nontraditional providers (such as peer recovery specialists).

The literature notes that, overall, the research on employment-related interventions for people with opioid use disorder is still in its infancy, and for that reason, opportunities for building evidence should be capitalized upon by any organization providing services to address it, and in so doing, lay the groundwork for more rigorous studies.