Leadership education builds several important assets in Kentucky youth and provides critical elements of youth development (Search Institute, 2004; Pittman, Irby & Ferber, 2001). The fewer assets young people have, the more likely they are to engage in negative behaviors (Benson, 1997; Eccles & Gootman, 2002). The more assets that are provided to youth, the more likely they are to exhibit positive behaviors. Strong leadership and decision making skills are essential assets in helping shape a 4-H member into a responsible adult (Jones, n.d.). County 4-H teen programs often struggle with the retention of tenured 4-Hers once reaching middle school due to the overwhelming demand of school, extra-curricular and church activities. Therefore, county 4-H programs often deal with limited teen leaders for 4-H camp, workshops and teen council/4-H council representatives. With Leadership being one of the seven core curriculum areas in Kentucky 4-H, the goal of the 4-H Teen Leadership Academy is to help strengthen the teen’s leadership skills and encourage their involvement as 4-H teen leaders and adult 4-H leaders in the future.  The program started in 2008 as a combined effort between five Kentucky counties; Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue and Meade and continued into its eleventh year this year.

Monthly, multi-county programs taught participants about an aspect of their county; including: civic responsibility, volunteerism, college/workforce prep, media/PR, and city/county government.  Five applicants are selected from each county to comprise a group of 25 4-H teens for each annual class.  Meade County 4-H Youth Development had 6 county participants, grades 8-11, 5 female and 1 male for the 2019-2020 program year.

At the end of the program, a post-test was provided to each TLA member. Evaluation results and agent observations indicated that 100% of participants gained leadership skills. All 6 county participants took on leadership roles in 4-H and in school organizations, putting into use skills gained through TLA participation.  The agent observed, over the months of participation, all 6 county participants developing or increasing their self-confidence in themselves, their abilities and their communication processes; this being shown through interactions with one another and with representatives from participants from the other counties.