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.