About TYJ Consulting

TYJ Consulting provides experienced and gold standard quality technical assistance, consultation and training in support of state and local youth justice leaders and stakeholders that seek to enhance youth and family outcomes through improved justice system performance. TYJ empowers agencies and communities to enhance statutes, policies, practices, and youth justice performance that is fair and just for all youth, families, victims, and communities.

TYJ Founder and Managing Director and Contributing Consultant partners’ experience and reliance on research-based principles and practice has contributed to transformational positive change within more than 37 state and local jurisdictions throughout the United States, including the Territory of Guam and U. S. Virgin Islands. The TYJ approach seeks partnerships with state and local leaders and practitioners in the application of proven frameworks to guide the change management and reform process.

TYJ is proudly non-partisan and avoids prescriptive models that do not account for the unique environmental and contextual factors impacting reform opportunities. This approach reinforces localized solutions through the collaborative contributions of key youth justice stakeholders, thus enhancing the sustainability of the applied practice and policy reforms.

The TYJ Approach

TYJ Consulting provides experienced and gold standard quality technical assistance, consultation and training in support of state and local youth justice leaders and stakeholders that seek to enhance youth and family outcomes through improved justice system performance. TYJ empowers agencies and communities to enhance statutes, policies, practices, and youth justice performance that is fair and just for all youth, families, victims, and communities.

TYJ Founder and Managing Director and Contributing Consultant partners’ experience and reliance on research-based principles and practice has contributed to transformational positive change within more than 37 state and local jurisdictions throughout the United States, including the Territory of Guam and U. S. Virgin Islands. The TYJ approach seeks partnerships with state and local leaders and practitioners in the application of proven frameworks to guide the change management and reform process.

TYJ is proudly non-partisan and avoids prescriptive models that do not account for the unique environmental and contextual factors impacting reform opportunities. This approach reinforces localized solutions through the collaborative contributions of key youth justice stakeholders, thus enhancing the sustainability of the applied practice and policy reforms.

TYJ is committed to a developmental approach that advances and supports implementation of best practices at every decision point in the youth justice system. Policies and practices must reflect an understanding of adolescent development and the effects of interventions while integrating this approach among all stakeholders.

TYJ believes the youth justice system and its affiliated partners must be informed by the research and knowledge about adolescent brain science and the understanding of positive youth development. The 2013 National Research Council report recognized the following in support of this belief system:

• Adolescents are less able to regulate their own behavior in emotionally charged contexts.
• Adolescents are more sensitive to external influences such as the presence of peers and the immediacy of rewards.
• Adolescents are less able to make informed decisions that require consideration of the long term.

These adolescent “truths” provide the foundation for the adoption and implementation of developmentally informed practices, policies and procedures that have proven effective in achieving the primary responsibilities of the youth justice system, which include accountability, prevention of re-offending, and fairness and just treatment for all youth.

Technical Assistance and Training Opportunities

TYJ Consulting offers a wide range of technical assistance, consultation, and training opportunities to youth justice stakeholders with state and local jurisdictions across the United States and the territories, including:

Mr. Tuell has author/co-authored numerous publications that supported the work of the National Resource Center’s Dual Status Youth, Probation System Reform, and Youth Justice System Reform and Enhancement, Diversion and Alternatives Reform Team (DART) initiatives. Mr. Tuell was the primary author for the Developmental Reform in Juvenile Justice: Translating the Science of Adolescent Development to Sustainable Best Practice Brief (2017) and for the innovation brief entitled Keys to Youth Justice Improvement: Demonstration of Practical, Sustainable, Measurable, and Replicable Solutions (February 2023). All of which detail proven frameworks and the transformative process by which youth justice systems can consistently produce positive reforms to produce improved youth outcomes.

Mr. Tuell also contributed to the creation and ongoing activities at the Innovation Center for Youth Justice (ICYJ) at James Madison University (JMU), his alma mater. The ICYJ is now in its 3rd year of operation under the capable leadership of Professor Rita Potoyeva, PhD, winner of the President’s Purple Star Award for courage and innovation related to her activities and leadership of the ICYJ. The ICYJ features a unique transformation of youth justice minor degree program, a national internship program, research development and evaluation, and a strong partnership with the National Resource Center for the Transformation of Youth Justice.

Mr. Tuell earned his Bachelor of Social Work degree from James Madison University and his Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from George Washington University. He is the proud father of two sons, Austin (age 36) and Zachary (age 31).