Four visitors from Tajikistan visited Hillside Children’s Center in September to learn more about Hillside’s juvenile justice services. The meeting was part of a United States visit organized through the League of Women Voters’ Global Democracy program and the Open World Leadership Center, which aims to enhance understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and the countries of Eurasia and the Baltic States. The group included newspaper correspondent Kholiknazar Makjmadnazarovich Dzhumaev, Tajik State National University faculty member Bakhtovar Amiralievich Safarov, Lawyer-Consultant Umedzhon Nosirovich Soliyev, and Gulru Sharofovna Azamova, program management specialist from the USAID Community Connections Program/American Councils.

The group also visited local government offices, the University of Rochester, and other not-for-profit organizations during their weeklong visit. Hillside was chosen as one organization to represent services for at-risk youth because of its strong leadership reputation. According to Greg Reynolds, operations manager for Integration, “In Tajikistan, child welfare programs are all run by the government. The visitors were very interested in hearing about how our juvenile justice services have evolved from a punitive approach to a strength-based model.”