The Kentucky 4-H Reality Store, a workforce preparation program was established to educate youth about the importance of budgeting, setting goals, planning for careers, considering the future, preventing teen pregnancy, and abstaining from drug misuse. The program which has been administered to over 45,000 adolescents each year has never been systematically evaluated. The present study contributed to the specific understanding of the short- and longer-term adolescent perceptions of the impact of the Kentucky 4-H Reality Store program based on their lived experiences. In addition, the results of the present study contributed to the literature on experiential youth prevention/intervention programs.

The focus group methodology included a purposive sample of 48 adolescent informants who had participated in the Reality Store as well as four adult informants who planned and/or implement the program. Based on the lived experiences of the adolescents who engaged in narrative conversation during with semi-structured questions, the Kentucky 4-H Reality Store was perceived as having an impact in four of the seven goals established by the program.

The implications associated with understanding the workforce preparation program, the Kentucky 4-H Reality Store, affected the lives of adolescents were instrumental to educators and industry professionals who plan and implement the program. The present research contributes to the scholarly literature associated with the impact of workforce preparation programs. Results suggest that the program may be effective, but suggests the need for additional investigation.

KEYWORDS: Reality Store, Evaluation, 4-H, Workforce, Preparation