Livingston County, Kentucky, is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. Illinois borders at the North and East side of the County. The county seat is located on the south end of the county. Largely agrion, majority of the residents work outside of the county. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 342 square miles (890 km2), of which 313 square miles (810 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (8.5%) is water. The western side of  the county borders with Illinois( formed by the Ohio River). The census estimates a population decline 2.6% in 2018 with over 15% of the people living below the poverty rate.

In an effort to attract more residents, industry and employers to the county, the Livingston County Chamber implemented a Work Ready Committee to begin the process of making efforts to identify critical needs to designate the County as Work Ready. The Work Ready program is an initiative sponsored by the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.  Many organizations in the county are involved in this effort of the county, including Cooperative Extension. In April 2018, the Work Ready Board certified the county as Work Ready in Progress. In September2018, the Cooperative Extension Service launched the Community Needs Assessment. The third and final aspect of the program, the Focus Group, went very well in the County. Two focus groups met with nearly identical results. Participants were eager to identify visions of a vibrant county, identify barriers to those visons and identify issues that need addressing to achieve those visions of a vibrant county. The focus groups left energized and empowered to continue the meeting into monthly community strategic planning meetings. The participants stated that they found the environment was inclusive, objective and productive. Many stakeholders felt empowered to share ideas, needs and ideas formed in the meeting. One participant stated, “I can’t wait to take action on involving our families and teens in the process!” Another participant exclaimed, “I can’t believe the Teen Focus Group came up with the same needs as our group (all adults) did! The Extension survey effort was carefully received by the participants but has launched a new mission of involvement in the community.