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RETAIN program aims to keep Kentuckians with disabilities employed, DOL presenters say
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Summary
RETAIN, a federally funded DOL program, aims to coordinate health and employment services so people with work-limiting injuries or illnesses can stay at work. Presenters highlighted that only 38% of working-age Kentuckians with disabilities are employed and described services including peer mentoring.
Speaker 1, Presenter, said RETAIN is "the first federally funded early intervention to integrate health care and employment services," and that the program is led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in partnership with the Employment and Training Administration, the Chief Evaluation Office and the Social Security Administration.
Speaker 2, Presenter, framed the need in Kentucky: "38 percent of working age adults in Kentucky who have disabilities are employed as of today. That's not good enough." Presenters said RETAIN's second phase operated in five states '1 Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Vermont '1 and highlighted the program's role connecting people to providers and supports.
Speaker 4, Presenter, provided additional state context, saying Kentucky's workforce participation rate is about 57.3 percent and that the state ranks roughly 48th in the nation. "To stay at work in Kentucky means, in spite of illness or an injury, if you receive the right supports and coordinated services, you should be able to stay at work," Speaker 4 said.
Presenters described RETAIN services as a mix of referrals, direct assistance and employer engagement. "We connect individuals with the resources, providers, anything to address barriers, or even provide direct services such as peer mentoring," Speaker 6 said. Other speakers emphasized broader benefits of employment, including identity, better health and increased community economic activity.
Speaker 7, reflecting a patient-centered view, said many people with disabilities do not realize they can return to work and praised the program as a resource: "I just hope it never goes away." The presentation did not include any formal actions, votes or funding decisions; it presented phase-2 results and program goals for keeping workers with disabilities employed.
The presenters said RETAIN is designed to coordinate multiple agencies and supports rather than substitute for benefits administered by other federal or state programs. No formal next steps or commitments were recorded in the transcript.
