Kentucky employers have noted that entry-level employees lack basic life skills. In order to address this, the Kentucky 4-H Program began offering the LifeSmarts as an educational experience. LifeSmarts is a vetted national educational program designed to teach youth (middle and high school) strategies for basic life skills in the areas of consumer rights and responsibilities, the environment, health and safety, personal finance, and technology.

LifeSmarts is supported by the National Consumers League and iCivics organizations. In Kentucky, the 4-H Program partners with the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, National Consumers League, FFA, the 4-H Foundation, and Kentucky Schools. The resources are all online and accessible to registered people. 4-H LifeSmarts Teams complete online assessments and then the top ten teams in each age group are eligible to compete for the state championship. 

In 2025, there were 25 Teams registered and 30 classrooms registered, for an estimated direct use of 200. We estimate, based on page hits, another 200 users. 

For the first time, Kentucky 4-H had Teams represented at national in both Junior Varsity (middle school) and Varsity (high school) Competitions. Garrard County 4-H received Top Ten Varsity Recognition and Harrison County 4-H received Top 15 Junior Varsity Recognition. One of Garrard County's 4-Hers won a $1500 scholarship for his individual work.