Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) is proud to announce that its Prosper Appalachia initiative has been named the 2026 Youth Program of the Year by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), recognizing a regional effort that has connected thousands of Eastern Kentucky students with career guidance, paid work experience, and employment close to home.
Funded by an allocation from the Kentucky General Assembly through its statewide Putting Young Kentuckians to Work initiative, along with support from an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER grant and Congressman Hal Rogers, Prosper Appalachia places Career Development Specialists in high schools across EKCEP’s service area, where they work directly with students to explore careers, develop individualized career plans, prepare for the workplace, and connect with local employers. The initiative is delivered through a partnership among EKCEP, its Community Action partners, schools, and employers throughout the region.
During Prosper Appalachia’s first two-year cycle, the program enrolled 4,396 Eastern Kentucky high school juniors and seniors. More than 3,500 developed individualized career plans, while 1,533 participated in paid Work Experience opportunities designed to give students hands-on exposure to the workplace.
But the program’s impact extended beyond career exploration and work-based learning. Prosper Appalachia also helped 1,693 young people secure unsubsidized employment, representing real, verified jobs with employers in Eastern Kentucky. For many of those students, the program provided their first connection to the workforce, giving them an opportunity to build a work history, earn a paycheck, and develop the skills and confidence that come from employment.
“This is an incredible honor, and we are proud to receive it on behalf of everyone who has made Prosper Appalachia what it is,” said EKCEP Executive Director Rebecca Carnes-Miller. “That includes our staff, our Community Action partners and Career Development Specialists, our schools, and the employers across Eastern Kentucky who were willing to open their doors to young people. Most importantly, it belongs to the students who took advantage of these opportunities, went to work, and showed employers what they are capable of doing.”
The national recognition comes as independent economic analysis also demonstrates the substantial projected return generated by the investment in Prosper Appalachia.
A recent study by Lightcast, an independent labor market analytics firm, found that Prosper Appalachia is projected to generate $4.71 in taxpayer benefits for every $1 invested. The analysis, covering 4,414 young Kentuckians served during Program Years 2024–2026, projects approximately $47.28 million in taxpayer benefits and more than $26 million in adjusted annual earnings gains associated with participants.
The study also found a significant change in employment among the young people served. Only 3% of participants were employed before entering Prosper Appalachia, compared with 43% following participation. Lightcast projects that taxpayers will recover the original investment in the program in approximately 2.6 years.
“When we talk about investing in young people, these results show what that investment can actually produce,” Carnes-Miller said. “We are helping students understand what opportunities exist, giving them a chance to experience the workplace, and connecting them with employers who need their talent.”
Local employers have played a central role in that work. Businesses and organizations throughout the region have hosted students for paid work experience, provided mentorship and firsthand exposure to different occupations, and helped students understand the expectations of the workplace. In many cases, those initial connections have led to continued employment.
Carnes-Miller said those investments have allowed EKCEP and its partners to create opportunities for young people at a scale that would not otherwise have been possible.
“We are tremendously grateful to the Kentucky General Assembly and ARC for investing in Prosper Appalachia and giving us the opportunity to put those resources to work for students here in Eastern Kentucky,” she said. “We also thank NAWDP for this national recognition. To have Prosper Appalachia recognized by workforce professionals from across the country is a tremendous honor, but the greatest measure of its success is what we are seeing here in the region: young people gaining experience and realizing there can be a future of work for them close to home.”
For more information about this recognition, read more on NAWDP’s website here.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network. Learn more at ekcep.org.