Since September, 2007 (in the recent aftermath of the June 2007 “Northern California Summit on Preventing Needless Work Disability by Helping People Stay Employed”) California-based stakeholders in the stay-at-work/return-to-work process, representing every facet and perspective on this still-challenging dynamic, have met voluntarily on a monthly basis to share ideas, build support and adopt specific projects intended to promote keeping Californians working safely and productively. Our purpose has been grounded in the objectives of ACOEM’s 2006 Report on Preventing Needless Work Disability, but has grown to embrace subsequently developed principles and practices of stay-at-work and return-to-work within every venue we represent.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE CA CONSORTIUM

Based in Northern California, amid so many healthcare and business-related educational and professional associations, affinity groups and governmental agencies, the CA Consortium has decided to remain an ad hoc group of volunteers with no formal membership requirements nor fees. Shared affinity with the goal of keeping Californians safely and productively at work, along with simple self-interest from the standpoint of our personal and professional commitments to the entities we represent, have supported our continuing efforts:

"[Self-interest] is a doctrine not very lofty, but clear and sure. It does not seek to attain great objects; but it attains those it aims for without too much effort. ... [It] does not produce great devotion; but it suggests little sacrifices each day; by itself it cannot make a man virtuous; but it forms a multitude of citizens who are regulated, temperate, moderate, farsighted, masters of themselves; and if it does not lead directly to virtue through the will, it brings them near to it insensibly through habits." [Alexis de Tocqueville, "Democracy in America"]

This group comprises voluntary representatives of public and private entities, for profit and non-profit organizations, business management, healthcare providers, organized labor and disability insurance constituents; ancillary healthcare providers of many descriptions as well as case managers of various emphases; advocates for the full employment of Californians with disabilities, transitory or permanent impairments; affiliates of the State of California’s Department of Industrial Relations, and others who identify as SAW-RTW stakeholders.

OBJECTIVES, 2009

Early in 2009, the CA Consortium reviewed various interests and possible goals explored throughout the previous year, in light of constraints of available funds, our professional abilities and our voluntary commitment of "spare time." We agreed to focus our efforts in 2009 on the following projects:"

1. Develop specific, industry-centered practical recommendations, in collaboration with the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) and the DIR, to comprise the "how-to" portion of a Return-to-Work Guide for California Stakeholders in the SAW-RTW process, including tools and resources, particularly for small employers. (This effort was initiated in 2008 by the California Department of Industrial Relations with the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation.)
2. Develop health care provider learning materials to be made accessible "in the public domain" designed to aid in the effective exchange of information between employer, employee, care provider and benefits carrier; and to emphasize the concept of safe activity as an essential component of healing, specifically through medically suitable SAW/RTW opportunities. (This effort reflects the group’s recognition that specialized education of California healthcare providers, in particular, may be the "last frontier" of yet-to-be-realized opportunity to broadly advance SAW-RTW practices.)
3. Continue to support CA Consortium’s sponsor role of International Forum on Disability Management 2010 with CHSWC and IAIABC (North America) through suggestions of presenters/presentations; through further sponsorship by California entities concerned with promoting SAW-RTW, work disability prevention and/or full employment of persons with disabilities; and through the direct participation of CA Consortium members in the IFDM 2010’s Planning/Advisory Committee. (In October 2008, the CA Consortium agreed to formally sponsor, with funds remaining from the Northern CA Summit and with certain commitments of time and effort, the International Forum on Disability Management, 2010, to be held in Los Angeles in mid-09/10.)
4. Expand our current web site (www.CASAWRTW.org) to serve as a resource and exchange forum for information for all stakeholders involved in the SAW/RTW process. (In-kind contributions to the CA Consortium include the voluntary provision and servicing of this website, in order to offer a central repository of informational and practical resources to California stakeholders in the SAW-RTW process.)

MEETINGS

Meetings are open to all interested California Stakeholders, who may attend any portion of the monthly two-hour sessions in person or by phone (see Meeting Details.)

DISCLAIMERS

The California Consortium to Promote SAW-RTW (Consortium) provides resources and strategies for interested stakeholders to help them ensure that more California employees can stay at and/or return to work.

Membership is voluntary and comprises interested individuals rather than representatives of their respective employers. Members shall be responsible for protecting proprietary information about their own company in their Consortium communications. When members offer training, materials, or tools to the Consortium, the offering will be treated as non-proprietary, educational or informational and shall be free from commercial or promotional bias. The topics and materials presented should be relevant and applicable to a broad range of stakeholders.

Should copyrighted material be offered it shall be accompanied by a written statement clearly outlining any limitations of reuse and may give permission to copy and distribute with appropriate acknowledgement and credit.

In keeping with the Consortium’s intention to avoid the appearance of impropriety, including in regards to anti-trust laws, members will not disclose any of their company’s business practices or policies that could be construed as proprietary, protected or confidential during the course of any of the Consortium’s internal or external communications.