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RETAIN federal grant winding down; department says program will not continue in base budget absent Legislature funding
Summary
Department officials told the Appropriations Committee that the federally funded RETAIN program — a medically focused effort to help injured workers return to work — has been spent down and will cease as a department‑administered, federally funded program in FY26 unless the Legislature opts to provide state funds.
Department of Labor officials told the House Appropriations Committee the RETAIN federal grant that supported medically focused return‑to‑work services is being spent down in FY26 and will not appear as ongoing federal spending authority in the department’s base budget unless the Legislature provides state appropriations to continue it.
Harrington described RETAIN as a high‑cost but effective program that contracted with partners — including Dartmouth‑Hitchcock and the University of Pittsburgh — to provide casework with health‑care providers, rehabilitation specialists and employers so injured workers could return to work. He said the RETAIN program was structured with an initial grant of about $1 million followed by a multi‑year award that totaled roughly $20–21 million, and that continuing similar services statewide would require additional funding in the “roughly $2.5 to $3 million annually” range if a sponsor or the Legislature sought to fund it beyond the federal award.
The department said it was the grant administrator but not the direct service provider and that program partners would publish evaluation results; Harrington said some results are already available online and that the department could provide links and documents to the committee.
Committee members asked whether the services would simply disappear; Harrington said the program “ceases to exist” in the department’s base when federal authority ends unless legislative appropriations are made to continue it. He noted the program was designed as a controlled study with treatment and comparison groups and that available indicators suggested the intervention improved return‑to‑work outcomes.
No new state appropriation was proposed during the hearing; committee members were told the department would supply written reports and published evaluations from RETAIN partners for members’ review.
