Ohio RETAIN Impact Evaluation

Overview

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 Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' implementation of "Ohio RETAIN." 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.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has partnered with Mercy Health to implement "Ohio RETAIN" in Youngstown, Toledo and Cicinnati catchment areas. SSA contracted with Mathematica to conduct an independent evaluation of the program. 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 Ohio RETAIN stakeholders about the treatment enrollee returning to work, and monitors the enrollee's medical and employment progress. The Business Resource Network and OhioMeansJobs provide additional support for workplace-based interventions and retaining or rehabilitation of enrollees. Ohio recruits potentially eligible workers as they receive care from medical providers. The evaluation team 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 treatment and control groups and gathers evidence on how Ohio RETAIN 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.