RETAIN Phase 2 FOA.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Disability Employment Policy

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

AND

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR

Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects: Phase 2

OCTOBER 15, 2020

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20210 i

Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... I

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

B. BACKGROUND AND INTERVENTION DESIGN

C. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

D. DEFINITIONS

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD AMOUNT AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

1. Responsibilities of the Lead Applicant

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

C. Other Information

1. Application Screening Criteria

2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit

D. Eligible Target Worker Participant Populations

During the six month administrative start-up period, health care practices that were active during the pilot may continue to enroll new participants into RETAIN. These participants will be considered Phase 2 enrollees. However, some may not be included in the Phase 2 evaluation sample. The independent evaluator will provide information by April 2021 regarding whether and under what circumstances participants enrolled during the administrative start-up period will be considered part of the evaluation sample

E. VETERANS PRIORITY FOR PARTICIPANTS

F. OTHER AWARD SPECIFICATIONS

1. Allowable Use of Funds during Phase 2, RETAIN Implementation Cooperative Agreement

2. State and Local Partnerships

3. Program Technical Assistance

4. Evaluation Information

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

ii

1. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”

2. SF-424A, “Budget Information Form” and Budget Narrative

3. Project Narrative

4. Attachments to the Project Narrative

C. SUBMISSION DATE, TIMES, PROCESS, AND ADDRESSES

D. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW

E. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

1. Indirect Costs

2. Salary and Bonus Limitations

3. Intellectual Property Rights

4. Travel

F. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. SCORING CRITERIA FOR PROJECT NARRATIVES

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS FOR PHASE 2, RETAIN DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

IMPLEMENTATION

1. Risk Review Process

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AWARD NOTICES

B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

1. Administrative Program Requirements

2. Other Legal Requirements

3. Other Administrative Standards and Provisions

C. Reporting

1. Quarterly Financial Reports

2. Quarterly Performance Reports

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

VIII. OMB INFORMATION COLLECTION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Disability Employment Policy

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR:

Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) Demonstration Projects – Phase 2

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: FOA-ODEP-21-01

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 17.720

KEY DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications under this Announcement is January 15, 2021. We must receive applications no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: Address mailed applications to:

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Charles Cox, Grant Officer Reference FOA-ODEP-21-01 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4673 Washington, D.C. 20210

For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to Section IV.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration is responsible for the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s grant award process.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), in collaboration with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, the Department, or we), and the Social Security Administration (SSA), announce the availability of approximately $108,000,000 in funds authorized by Section 169, subsection (b)(5), of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Section 1110 of the Social Security Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 to implement Phase 2 of the RETAIN–Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network–Demonstration Projects. This competition is limited to recipients of RETAIN Phase 1 awards. DOL will award all funds and administer all cooperative agreements.

RETAIN Demonstration Projects test the impact of early intervention strategies on the stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) outcomes of workers who have recently incurred a new injury or illness, or who recently experienced an exacerbation of an existing injury or illness, that presents long-term difficulties for their ability to work.

RETAIN projects will address both on-the-job and off-the-job injuries and illnesses.

Central to these projects is the early coordination of health care and employment-related support and services to help injured or ill workers remain in the workforce. Support and services include training in occupational health best practices for participating health care providers, active involvement of a Return-to-Work Coordinator throughout the medical recovery period to facilitate continued employment, enhanced stakeholder engagement and communication, and retraining and rehabilitation services. We anticipate RETAIN services will be low cost to allow for a high volume of service delivery.

To test the impact of these strategies, successful projects will provide services through an integrated network of partners that includes close collaboration between state and/or local workforce development entities, health care systems and/or health care provider networks, and other partners as appropriate.

The RETAIN Demonstration Projects are funded in two phases. This FOA covers Phase 2. The initial period of performance (Phase 1) is underway. In Phase 1, state workforce agencies partnered with state health departments, or equivalent entities generally responsible for managing, regulating, or influencing the provision of health services; health care systems practicing coordinated care and population health management; and the State Workforce Development Board to conduct their pilot demonstrations. During Phase 2, awardees will work with key partners established in Phase 1, establish new partnerships, and expand the pilot projects geographically, in order to increase participant enrollment to a level sufficient for evaluation purposes (see Section III.F.4 for details on evaluation requirements). In general, competitive Phase 2 applicants are those who present a work plan for Phase 2 reflecting growth and learning based on experiences during the Phase 1 pilot, demonstrate a high degree of programmatic readiness to take their projects to scale, and exhibit clear evaluability.

In Phase 1, the RETAIN Programmatic Technical Assistance (TA) Provider assisted awardees with planning, start-up, and pilot requirements and created programmatic readiness reports of the projects, which document the Phase 1 awardees’ preparedness to implement the project at full scale in Phase 2. The grant selection panel will review the programmatic readiness reports as part of the application packages during the deliberation process. See Section V.A for additional information on selection criteria. During Phase 2, the TA Provider will continue supporting awardees as they implement their projects and will plan and facilitate annual, in-person meetings of all Phase 2 awardees.

Phase 2 awardees must participate in the RETAIN independent evaluation. In Phase 1, an independent evaluator assisted in evaluation design and created evaluability reports of the projects. Similar to the programmatic readiness reports, the grant selection panel will review the evaluability reports as part of the application packages during the deliberation process. During

Phase 2, the independent evaluator will conduct the formal evaluation of each of the demonstration projects.

More information about the RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider and the independent evaluation follows in Section III.F.

DOL will host a prospective applicant webinar for this competition. The date, time, and other logistical information will be posted on ODEP’s website at https://www.dol.gov/odep.

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

This Announcement solicits applications for RETAIN Phase 2–Implementation cooperative agreements for the RETAIN Demonstration Projects. The purpose of the RETAIN initiative is to implement and evaluate promising early intervention strategies to support injured or ill workers in remaining at or returning to work. The awardees will accomplish this by providing coordinated health and employment services to these workers starting within 12 weeks of work disability onset, and continuing for up to six months after RETAIN program entry.

Successful projects will provide services through an integrated network of partners that includes close collaboration between state and/or local workforce development entities, health care systems and/or health care provider networks, and other partners (e.g., employers or insurers) as appropriate. If health and employment services are required after six months, or if services beyond the scope of the RETAIN program are required, participants will be referred to any available services such as a State Vocational Rehabilitation agency. Such services would not be compensable under RETAIN.

The RETAIN Phase 2 cooperative agreements provide funding to implement the demonstration projects designed and piloted during Phase 1 and require participation in the related independent evaluation. Additional information on the two-phased funding process is provided in Sections II.A and II.B.

As established in Phase 1, the primary goals of the RETAIN Demonstration Projects are as follows:

1. To increase employment retention and labor force participation of individuals who acquire, and/or are at risk of developing, a disability that inhibits their ability to work;

and

2. To reduce long-term work disability among project participants, including the need for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).1

The ultimate purpose of the demonstration is to validate and bring to scale evidence-based strategies to accomplish these goals.

1 See https://www.ssa.gov/disability/ for more information on SSDI and SSI.

B. BACKGROUND AND INTERVENTION DESIGN

The RETAIN Demonstration Projects will test the effects of the provision of comprehensive, coordinated health and employment-related services and support to workers who have recently acquired an injury or illness, or worsening of an existing condition, that inhibits their ability to continue working. Information about the need for early intervention among this population is detailed in Appendix A of the RETAIN Phase 1 FOA.

This FOA solicits innovative proposals to continue expanding the partnerships and processes developed and established in Phase 1 to efficiently identify individuals when they acquire a condition that has the potential to inhibit their ability to continue working and then assist them in maintaining gainful employment, preferably through their current or most recent employer.

Applicants should examine their Phase 1 target population in relation to recent trends in their state and consider new ways to facilitate continued employment (or connection to the labor force) following an injury or illness through early, coordinated health and employment-related services.

In general, Phase 2 applicants will meet the following requirements/criteria:

Specify a population of workers, geographically expanding upon the Phase 1 population in their state, who experience injuries or medical conditions that put them at risk of developing a disability that inhibits their ability to work (i.e., target population(s)); and

Build upon and expand the coordinated, comprehensive strategy(ies) established in Phase 1 to connect these workers to participating health care providers and the project’s RTW Coordinators to return them to work.

This demonstration should enhance existing standard practices or establish new practices (currently identified as best practices through research) that improve the coordination of health and comprehensive employment services to promote RTW. The RTW Coordinator is critical to the success of RETAIN projects.

Build on Experiences from the RETAIN Phase 1 Pilot and States’ Existing Programs

Applicants have the flexibility to develop projects that respond to their state’s specific demographic and socio-economic situations while satisfying the requirements described in this Announcement. Projects should build specifically upon the design and lessons learned during RETAIN Phase 1 from continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts and the pilot. In addition, projects should build upon other existing programs or systems, such as state-based temporary disability insurance (TDI) programs, collaborative health care organizations, paid family leave programs, disability management insurance providers, or workers’ compensation (WC) programs in a manner that improves upon, but does not directly duplicate, existing processes or services.

Required Early Intervention Strategies

SAW/RTW programs succeed by returning injured workers to productive work as soon as medically possible during their recovery process and by providing interim part-time or light duty work and accommodations, as necessary. Studies show that the likelihood of a return to full employment drops significantly after six months of absence, and the odds of a worker ever returning to work drop 50 percent by just the 12th week after injury or illness onset. Indeed, one recent paper suggests that referrals to RETAIN-like health and employment services should not be made if an absence already exceeds 12 weeks.2 To examine and confirm these prior assessments, RETAIN’s coordinated health and employment services will ideally begin within 12 weeks of work disability onset, and grantees must enroll at least 80 percent of RETAIN participants within this timeframe. Grantees must clearly define the criteria that will allow enrollment in RETAIN after the 12-week period. The Federal Project Officer (FPO) must approve such criteria prior to implementation.

The RETAIN Demonstration Projects are modeled after promising programs operating in Washington State, including the Centers of Occupational Health and Education (COHE),3 the Early Return to Work,4 and the Stay at Work programs.5 These programs are described in greater detail in Appendix B of the Phase 1 FOA. While these programs operate under the umbrella of the state’s WC system and as such are available only to individuals with work-related injuries or illnesses, the RETAIN Demonstration Projects provide opportunities to improve SAW/RTW outcomes for individuals with both occupational and non-occupational injuries and illnesses.

In Phase 1, the following intervention strategies were required:

RTW Coordinators coordinating health and employment service delivery (including the development and implementation of a plan to support the employee in returning to or staying at work);

Training participating health care providers in occupational health best practices such as those provided in COHE and alternatives to opioids for pain management;6

Incentivizing participating health care providers to utilize the best practices;

Early communication amongst all stakeholders to return the worker to the workplace as soon as possible;

Workplace-based interventions (including accommodations such as lighter and/or modified duties, and adjustments to work schedules, tasks, and the physical worksite, if necessary). Such interventions may be provided with support from the RTW Coordinator;

2 http://www.dmec.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Zurich-Whitepaper_Early-Intervention-RTW-Best-Practices.pdf;

https://www.iaiabc.org/images/iaiabc/Return-to-Work_Foundational-Approach-to-Return-to-Function_Final.pdf;

http://www.crfb.org/project/ssdi/implementing-community-focused-health-work-service-hws.

3 http://www.lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Providers/ProjResearchComm/OHS/default.asp.

4 http://www.lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Insurance/Injury/LightDuty/Ertw/Default.asp.

5 http://lni.wa.gov/Main/StayAtWork/.

6 Health care providers affiliated with COHE receive training in four specific occupational health best practices: (1) submitting a complete Report of Accident (ROA) in two business days or less; (2) developing an activity plan, which communicates the worker's ability to participate in work activities, activity restrictions, and the provider's treatment plans; (3) communicating directly with COHE staff and employers when injured workers are off or expected to be off work; and (4) assessing the injured worker’s barriers in returning to work and developing a plan to overcome them.

Retraining/rehabilitation for workers who can no longer perform their prior job or other available suitable alternate work; and

Tracking and monitoring the medical and employment progress of participating workers.

These strategies were established and implemented during the pilots. In Phase 2, states are required to continue refining these strategies through CQI to meet the needs and improve employment outcomes of the target population(s). Please note, the FPO must approve any changes to the required elements described here and states must coordinate with the evaluator.

With approval of the FPO and in coordination with the evaluator, states may propose and implement additional evidence-based strategies at the beginning of Phase 2.

Many injured or ill workers could remain in their jobs or the workforce if they received timely, effective supports, such as those listed above. While some workers require more extensive vocational counseling services, rehabilitation, retraining, and follow-up services, many workers can return to work with supports and accommodations or modification of job duties provided primarily through the employer and the RTW Coordinator.

RTW Coordinators will monitor all cases and provide services as needed, primarily through coordination efforts, stakeholder communication and RTW encouragement (especially for employers). RTW Coordinators will also facilitate access to employment services. RTW Coordinators may be located in a place of the applicant’s choosing, but must have access to health and employment data to effectively accomplish their role.

Systems Leadership: Collaboration among Workforce Development System, Health Care System, and Other Systems such as Vocational Rehabilitation to Keep People Working

Strong leadership from the workforce development system, including an effective partnership with the health care system, is critical to implementing these strategies and achieving both desired employment and health outcomes. Health care systems will play a key role in delivering appropriate care to improve SAW/RTW outcomes among the target population. Framing and embracing employment as a positive health outcome will facilitate effective partnerships between the workforce development and health care systems.

Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s (WIOA) Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Plan provisions, state VR agencies have the option to provide these types of services and give priority to individuals who are otherwise eligible for VR program services and who are at imminent risk of losing their jobs unless they receive additional post-employment services. In most instances, however, when VR resources are limited, states operate under an established order of selection giving people with the most significant disabilities priority for VR services. In such instances, and when states choose not to prioritize individuals at risk of losing their jobs, the workforce development system can provide these services to adults through Title I of WIOA.

It is important that the workforce development system play a strong leadership role by providing return-to-work expertise and employment-related services to both individuals and employers and coordinating closely with health care entities to address workers’ health-related needs. This will minimize the human and business-related costs associated with work disabilities.

C. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

This program is authorized by Section 169, subsection (b)(5) of WIOA; the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018; the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020; and Section 1110 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1310(a)(1).

D. DEFINITIONS

Accessible: for the purposes of this FOA, the term “accessible” requires work products to be usable by assistive technologies and meet the criteria outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220); the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) Level AA; or as specified in subsequent updates to the preceding criteria.

Continuous Quality Improvement: a quality management process that encourages all team members to ask, “How are we doing?” and “Can we do it better?” on an ongoing basis.

CQI is applied in health care settings, but for the purposes of RETAIN the CQI team includes all stakeholders.7 See Appendix C of the Phase 1 FOA for additional information.

Gainful Employment: Employment situation where the employee receives consistent work and payment from the employer.

Health Care System: the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers the following definition of a health system: an organization with at least one hospital and at least one group of physicians that provides comprehensive care (including primary and specialty care) which are connected with each other and with the hospital through common ownership or joint management. AHRQ acknowledges that the definition of a health system has evolved over time, and will continue to do so, and provides additional examples on its website. DOL recognizes that health care systems look different in various parts of the country, and allows flexible interpretations of the definition.

Labor Force: sometimes referred to as the work force, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines this term as the number of the civilian non-institutionalized population 16 years and older classified as either employed or unemployed (persons who had no employment during the prior week, but were available for and made specific efforts to find work during the previous four weeks).

Labor Force Participation Rate: BLS defines the Labor Force Participation Rate as the number of people in the labor force as a percentage of the civilian non-institutionalized population 16 years old and over. In other words, it is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively seeking work.8

Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work (SAW/RTW): SAW/RTW strategies and programs allow employees to resume working, with or without work restrictions, when medically appropriate and help employers maintain valued employees while minimizing long-term health-related absences and optimizing productivity.

7 https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/tools/nlc_continuousqualityimprovementprimer.pdf.

8 https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#definitions.

Systems Change: changes in organizational culture, policies, and procedures within individual organizations or across organizations that enhance or streamline access and reduce or eliminate barriers to needed services by a target population.

Theory of Change: the conceptual thinking behind how a particular intervention or action will lead to specific results.

Work Disability: an illness, injury, or medical condition that has the potential to inhibit or limit continued employment or labor force participation.

Workforce Development System: a system that makes available the WIOA core programs, the other one-stop partner programs, and any other programs providing employment and training services as identified by a State or Local Workforce Development Board.

Work Time-Loss: the period of time a worker is absent due to an injury or illness. For the purposes of RETAIN, the injury or illness may be work-related or non-work-related.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD AMOUNT AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The RETAIN Demonstration Projects are structured in two competitive phases.

Phase 1, RETAIN Planning and Pilot–30-month period of performance (underway)9

Phase 2, RETAIN Demonstration/Implementation–48-month period of performance10

The Phase 2 period of performance is 48 months (four years). Subject to the availability of funding, we anticipate up to five projects will be incrementally funded over the course of the period of performance to reach a maximum of $21,600,000 per project.11 This equates to approximately $108,000,000 in total for the entirety of all Phase 2 awards. A total of $71,900,000 is currently available for up to five awards.

Applicants may not apply for more than the ceiling of $21,600,000 (total funding per grant), with up to $14,380,000 per grant being available in the first year. Applications with budgets exceeding the ceiling will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered. See Section V for information on the selection criteria. Budget requests (i.e., the SF-424 and SF-424A) and justifications must reflect the funding anticipated to be available for each year of the grant. See Section IV.B for information on the budget portion of the application.

9 Phase 1 had an initial period of performance of 18 months, beginning September 26, 2018, and ending March 31, 2020. In July 2019, DOL determined it appropriate to extend the period of performance by two months until May 31, 2020, at no additional cost to the government. In December 2019, DOL and its partners determined it necessary and appropriate to further extend the period of performance by 10 months with additional resources. The current Phase 1 period of performance ends on March 31, 2021.

10 In December 2019, when the Phase 1 period of performance was extended, DOL and its partners also deemed it beneficial to the projects and the evaluation to extend the Phase 2 period of performance from the length indicated in the Phase 1 FOA. The extension to the Phase 2 period of performance will allow projects an additional six months to enroll participants, thereby increasing the opportunity and the likelihood of meeting evaluation sample size requirements.

11 The RETAIN Phase 1 FOA indicated up to four projects would be funded in Phase 2. Additional funding was allocated to RETAIN, and DOL is therefore able to fund up to five projects.

DOL anticipates that the period of performance for RETAIN Phase 2 awards will begin in March 2021. As such, the start date for Phase 2 will be no later than March 31, 2021. Projects will be allowed a six-month period for administrative start-up, during which it is anticipated that necessary contracts will be executed and any key personnel openings will be filled. Projects will begin enrolling participants and providing services no later than six months after Phase 2 awards are initiated. See Section III.D for information about enrollment during the administrative start-up period.

All Phase 2 awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds.

B. AWARD TYPE

Funding for both phases of the project is provided through cooperative agreements, requiring close cooperation and coordination between DOL and the awardees. DOL will have substantial involvement in the administration of the cooperative agreement, and input and approval must be obtained prior to conducting most activities. DOL’s involvement in cooperative agreement administration during Phase 2 will include the following:

Monthly conference calls with awardees throughout the period of performance;

Prior approval of any RETAIN-related subcontracts arising after cooperative agreements are awarded;

Prior approval of all key personnel appointments and changes;

Participation in site visits to project areas;

Providing advice and consultation to project development and management;

Providing awardees with technical and programmatic support, including training in DOL grant administration monitoring systems, and standard procedures regarding DOL management of cooperative agreements;

Reviewing, at reasonable times, select cooperative agreement documents pertaining to the project, including but not limited to required metrics, status and technical progress reports, and quarterly financial reports. DOL will provide the states with the format for the technical progress reports within 45 days of award; and

Oversight of select content for print and online resources developed through project activities such as clearing topics for material production and final document production (e.g., press releases, fact sheets, outreach flyers, training materials, information about the project on the applicant’s website).

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Only recipients of RETAIN Phase 1 cooperative agreements are eligible for RETAIN Phase 2 funds.

The eligibility requirements above are incorporated in the Application Screening Criteria specified in Section III.C.1.

Consortia of states may not apply in the current cycle of RETAIN (Phases 1 and 2). See Section III.F.2 for information on other required and recommended state and local partnerships.

1. Responsibilities of the Lead Applicant

The lead applicant will serve as the awardee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the cooperative agreement, including performance of any sub-awardees.

Fiscal responsibility may not be delegated. Administrative responsibilities, such as project management, coordination, or delivery of health or employment-related intervention services, may be delegated only with approval from DOL. As part of their responsibility for the cooperative agreement, lead applicants must serve as the following:

1. the primary point of contact with DOL to receive and respond to all inquiries or communications under this FOA;

2. the entity with authority to draw down funds;

3. the entity responsible for submitting to DOL all required work products under the cooperative agreement, including all related technical and financial reports, regardless of which partnership member performed the work;

4. the entity that may request or agree to a revision or amendment of the cooperative agreement;

5. the entity with overall responsibility for carrying out programmatic functions, including collecting required project data, of the cooperative agreement, as well as the stewardship of all expenditures under the cooperative agreement;

6. the entity responsible for coordinating and fully cooperating with the independent evaluator and RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider; and

7. the entity responsible for working with DOL to close out the cooperative agreement.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

Although this FOA does not require matching, cost sharing, or other financial contributions from the applicant or any of the collaborative partners in the proposal, applicants are encouraged to leverage resources in the context of their strategic partnerships because it increases stakeholder investment in the project outcomes at all levels, strengthens the impact of the project itself, and increases the likelihood of success and sustainability. Proposals that choose to include leveraged resources will be evaluated on the amount of leveraged resources and the extent to which they are likely to broaden the impact of the project and improve the likelihood of success and sustainably.

See Section IV.B.2.

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria

Use the checklist below as a guide when preparing the application package to ensure that the application meets all of the screening criteria. This checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. We urge applicants to use this checklist to ensure that applications contains all required items. If an application does not meet all of the screening criteria, it will not move forward through the merit review process.

Application Requirement Instructions Complete?

The deadline submission requirements are met Section IV.C

Eligibility Section III.A

If submitted through Grants.gov, the components of the application are saved in any of the specified formats and are not corrupt. (We will attempt to open the document, but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.)

Section IV.C

Application federal funds request does not exceed the ceiling amount of $22,100,000.

Section II.A

SAM Registration Section IV.B.1

SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, including a DUNS Number

Section IV.B.1

SF-424A, Budget Information Form Section IV.B.2

Budget Narrative Section IV.B.2

Project Narrative Section IV.B.3

Detailed Work Plan and Project Logic Model Section IV.B.4

Visual Depiction of Participant Work Flow Section IV.B.4

Resumes of Proposed Key Personnel Section IV.B.4

Organization Chart Section IV.B.4

Letter of Support and Commitment from the Governor’s Office

Section IV.B.4

Letters of Commitment or Signed MOUs with RETAIN Leadership Team Members and Local

Workforce Development Boards Section IV.B.4

Letters of Commitment from Target Worker Population Recruitment Partners

Section IV.B.4

2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit

We will consider only one application from each Phase 1 awardee. If we receive multiple applications from the same Phase 1 awardee, we will consider only the most recently received application that met the deadline. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, we will not replace it with an earlier application.

D. ELIGIBLE TARGET WORKER PARTICIPANT POPULATIONS

The RETAIN intervention is intended to promote the continued labor force participation of workers who have sustained an illness or injury that inhibits their ability to work. Therefore, the proposed target population must meet the following criteria:

Must be employed, or at a minimum in the labor force, at the onset of the injury, illness, or condition (work-related or non-work-related) for which they are participating in RETAIN; and

May not include individuals who have applications for SSDI or SSI benefits pending or who are already receiving such benefits at the onset of the injury or illness.

See Section I.D for definitions of key terms such as labor force participation.

The applicant may choose the target population based on any type of injury or illness or combinations of injuries and illnesses (or other characteristics) so long as the applicant provides evidence that the project meets the following criteria:

Can reasonably expect to serve sufficient numbers of worker participants within that population;

Will meet the requirements of the independent evaluation; and Will meet the above described eligibility criteria.

Individuals with existing disabilities or chronic conditions are also eligible to receive RETAIN services. They may be eligible to participate based on a new injury or illness or worsening of a pre-existing condition (e.g., reduced functional capacity due to low back pain ).

In Phase 1, DOL and SSA were particularly interested in projects serving workers with musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and disorders, such as low back pain , sprains, or strains resulting from overexertion because, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018 data, those injuries accounted for approximately 30 percent of total work-related injuries in the private sector requiring days away from work.12 MSK injuries were the primary diagnosis for 33.2 percent of all SSDI disabled worker beneficiaries in 2018 and for 36.7 percent of all disabled workers awarded SSDI between 2014 and 2018.13

In Phase 2, we remain interested in projects serving workers with MSK injuries and disorders and encourage projects to expand their target populations to include workers with additional types of injuries or illnesses, such as those with a high incidence in the geographic area targeted for Phase 2 or those that represent high rates of historic transition to SSI or SSDI.

Projects are expected to continue collecting, sharing, and using data on all enrollees, including those enrolled before and after the 24-month enrollment period, for purposes of CQI and to continue sharing required data with DOL and SSA. However, participants enrolled before (i.e., during the pilot phase) or after the 24-month enrollment period will not be included in the research sample for purposes of the independent evaluation. We anticipate RETAIN services will be low cost to allow for a high volume of service delivery.

During the six month administrative start-up period, health care practices that were active during the pilot may continue to enroll new participants into RETAIN. These participants will be considered Phase 2 enrollees. However, some may not be included in the Phase 2 evaluation sample. The independent evaluator will provide information by April 2021 regarding whether and under what circumstances participants enrolled during the administrative start-up period will be considered part of the evaluation sample.

E. VETERANS PRIORITY FOR PARTICIPANTS

38 U.S.C. 4215 requires grantees to provide priority of service to veterans and spouses of certain veterans for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services in any job training program directly funded, in whole or in part, by DOL. The regulations implementing this priority of service are at 20 CFR Part 1010. In circumstances where an award recipient must choose between two qualified candidates for a service, one of whom is a veteran or eligible spouse, the veterans’ priority of service provisions require that the award recipient give the veteran or eligible spouse priority of service by first providing them that service. To obtain priority of service, a veteran or spouse must meet the program’s eligibility requirements.

Awardees must comply with DOL guidance on veterans’ priority. ETA’s Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 10-09 (issued November 10, 2009) provides guidance on implementing priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in all qualified job training programs funded in whole or in part by DOL. TEGL No. 10-09 is available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816.

F. OTHER AWARD SPECIFICATIONS

1. Allowable Use of Funds during Phase 2, RETAIN Implementation Cooperative Agreement

12 https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/case/msds.htm.

13 Social Security Administration, 2019. “Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2018.”

Accessed online at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2018/index.html.

Grant funds can be used to supplement services that are not available inside the workforce system such as coordination of health care and employment services, communication and outreach, and training to employers and health care providers on SAW/RTW best practices.

Allowable expenses under the RETAIN Implementation cooperative agreement include reasonable and necessary expenses to plan for and effectively implement the RETAIN demonstration projects and to support the related independent evaluation. See Section IV.B.3.a for a list of required activities during Phase 2. These activities and any supporting activities are considered allowable.

Financial incentives for health care providers to adopt occupational health best practices are a key component of the COHE model and are allowable in RETAIN projects.14 Financial incentives are also allowable for other stakeholder groups, as appropriate and approved by the FPO. RETAIN funds may not be used for the following forms of incentives: raffle, lottery, entertainment, food, and/or beverages. Applicants may spend no more than 10 percent of their total budget in any given year on providing incentives. If it becomes apparent post-award that additional funding for incentives will be necessary to implement the model successfully, the awardee must seek and gain approval from the ETA grants office and ODEP as part of the cooperative agreement. While RETAIN funds may be used to incentivize health care providers to utilize occupational health best practices through a fee-for-service payment model (e.g., a provider could receive an enhanced payment for submitting certain paperwork within a specified timeframe), RETAIN funds may not be used to pay for existing, billable direct health care services. Non-monetary incentives, such as Continuing Medical Education credits for health care providers, are also allowable.

Table 1. Allowable and Not Allowable Use of Funds for Incentives

Allowable Not Allowable

Fee-for-service financial incentives–up to 10 percent of annual RETAIN budget–for health care providers to adopt occupational health best practices

Raffles, lottery, and/or entertainment

Non-monetary incentives (e.g., continuing education credits)

Food and/or beverages

Billable direct health care services

Additionally, as stated in Section III.F.4, RETAIN funds may be used to pay for project staff to work with and support the evaluation conducted by the independent evaluation contractor, 14 Findings from the final evaluation of the pilot indicate that encouraging adoption of occupational health best practices through financial incentives promotes improved disability prevention. See here for more information:

http://www.lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Files/Providers/ohs/3CombinedReportApril222007Final.pdf.

to connect or establish systems to collect program data elements, and to conduct routine, internal program management activities, such as those within the required CQI plan. Use of RETAIN funds for other evaluative purposes is prohibited.

2. State and Local Partnerships

State

The lead applicant must partner and manage a consortium with a number of state-level partners (referred to below as the “RETAIN Leadership Team”), which collectively will provide project leadership to meet program objectives and drive better integration of resources at the local level (see Section IV.B.3). There are three required partners on the RETAIN Leadership Team:

1. The State Department of Labor, State Workforce Development Agency, or an equivalent entity with responsibility for labor, employment, and workforce development;

2. The State Workforce Development Board; 15 and

3. Health care system(s) practicing coordinated care and population health management.16

We anticipate the State Workforce Development Board will serve as a key partner to engage employers and shape policies regarding how services such as those provided through RETAIN are carried out by local Workforce Development Boards during and after the RETAIN Cooperative Agreements.

Beyond the required partners, applicants have flexibility to choose the types of entities represented on the RETAIN Leadership Team that are relevant to their proposed target population and scope of the project. In Phase 1, we anticipated that this team would include the following representatives:

State-level agencies involved in o WIOA core programs, o Health, mental health, health insurance, and substance abuse, o Paid family leave programs, temporary disability insurance programs (where applicable) and/or workers’ compensation;

State Governor’s office;

Business-membership or business intermediary organizations;

Health care systems or provider networks (in addition to the required partner);

State VR agencies;

15 Workforce Development Boards direct federal, state, and local funding to workforce development programs. They also oversee the American Job Centers, where job seekers can get employment information, learn about career development training opportunities, and connect to various programs in their geographic area.

16 The Compendium of U.S. Health Systems, 2016.

Non-profit organizations or foundations with a history of involvement in coordinated care and/or SAW/RTW-related efforts; and

Publicly- and privately-funded universities, to the extent that such entities exhibit strong influence on pre-service training and professional credentialing.

In Phase 2, we anticipate many of the same partners will continue from Phase 1. Applicants are, however, free to add or subtract partners in order to strengthen their proposed Phase 2 project. If a project expands its target population for Phase 2, for example, it may find it beneficial to add a partner with strong inroads to that population. Similarly, as a project expands to new areas geographically, it may find it necessary to add new health care partners. Alternatively, a Phase 1 partner’s circumstances may change such that they no longer have the capacity to participate during Phase 2, in which case a project may wish to replace that partner. In short, we expect that much of the project’s Leadership Team will continue from Phase 1, but justifiable additions or subtractions are acceptable.

Local

The lead applicant must also partner with one or more Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB), which will implement cooperative agreement activities at the local level. For states with only one LWDB, the commitment of its sole LWDB fulfills this requirement.

Applicants are required to show the commitment of one or more LWDBs through a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU).

In addition, relevant partnerships must be established at the local level to support the implementation plan activities. Such additional local entities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Health care organizations (including Federally Qualified Health Centers);

Local health and mental health agencies and providers;

Private health insurers;

American Job Centers (sometimes known as One-Stop Career Centers);

Disability service providers;

Disability management insurance providers;

One or more community colleges, technical institutions, four-year colleges/universities, or other education partners that can provide education and training activities should retraining become necessary; and

One or more business or industry partners (such as business membership associations or Chambers of Commerce) that will participate in defining the program strategies and goals and be actively involved in participating in funded project activities.

As with state partners, we expect that most of the project’s local partners will continue from Phase 1 into Phase 2. Justifiable additions or subtractions are acceptable.

3. Program Technical Assistance

DOL contracted with a technical assistance provider (the “RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider” or “TA Provider”) to support planning and pilot activities in Phase 1 and implementation activities in Phase 2 of the RETAIN Demonstration Project cooperative agreements. Awardees are expected to continue utilizing the TA Provider to address their project’s particular needs, such as barriers they may encounter in establishing necessary partnerships, developing appropriate training materials, and in recruiting and enrolling participants. Some of the TA provided will be state-specific, while other TA will be offered to all awardees in a group setting such as a webinar. Grantees must designate a TA liaison to collaborate with the TA Provider. DOL anticipates this liaison will be heavily involved in continuous quality improvement activities and ensuring the project takes advantage of available TA, as well as requesting the development of TA in areas not currently available.

DOL recommends a minimum of one full-time equivalent be allocated to performing these tasks.

In Phase 1, the RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider provided general assistance to awardees as they developed implementation plans for both the pilot and Phase 2. Assistance has included, but is not limited to, providing access to subject matter experts (SMEs) with knowledge or experience in the required activities; research on the current evidence base on coordinated health care and/or SAW/RTW interventions (including early interventions) and federal disability programs; providing guidance on partnership development, effective public-private collaboration and coordination, and crafting effective MOUs; communication and outreach support; and developing and integrating data systems. In addition, the RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider is preparing a Programmatic Readiness Report: a report of the Phase 1 awardee’s programmatic readiness for Phase 2, which will be included as part of the Phase 2 application materials. The report is based upon a rubric developed in conjunction with DOL.

The RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider will assist DOL in coordinating meetings and communications with awardees, as requested. The RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider will coordinate meetings, which may include programmatic calls with each awardee and its partners; calls with project directors; and calls that include all awardees and their partners. In Phase 2, the RETAIN Programmatic TA Provider will also plan and implement the logistics and agenda for an annual, in-person awardee meeting. Four such meetings will occur during Phase 2. Projects should include in their budget request funding for participation in the annual meeting. The first such meeting will take place in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2021. See Section IV.B.2 for logistical details on the first meeting to aid in budgeting.

4. Evaluation Information

SSA is funding an evaluation contractor (referred to here as the “independent evaluator” or “evaluator”) to conduct an independent evaluation of the RETAIN demonstration projects.

All RETAIN awardees are required to participate in this evaluation. The goal of the evaluation is to develop rigorous evidence about effective approaches for serving target populations and the impacts of the demonstration projects.