ANDY SHOOKHOFF: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Andy Shookhoff, Associate Director of the Child and Family Policy Center and former Juvenile Court Judge of Davidson County, has been a progressive and effective advocate for children and families for over two decades.
Upon graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 1977, Judge Shookhoff joined the staff of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. In 1980 he returned to Vanderbilt where he directed the Juvenile Law Clinic until his election as Juvenile Court Judge in 1990.
In his 13 years as a practicing attorney and law school professor, Judge Shookhoff represented children, parents, foster parents, grandparents and others in every kind of legal proceeding involving children. He was involved in more than twenty precedent setting cases in the juvenile law field and was the principal author of three amicus curiae briefs filed by the American Bar Association in the United States Supreme Court in cases raising juvenile justice issues.
During his eight year tenure as Juvenile Court Judge, Nashville’s Juvenile Court earned a national reputation for innovative collaborative early intervention efforts with schools, health care providers, social services agencies and community groups such as churches and neighborhood organizations.
Judge Shookhoff was honored as 1996 Judge of the Year by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association; and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges designated the Davidson County Juvenile Court as a “Model Court” for its handling of child abuse and neglect cases—one of only thirteen juvenile courts in the country, at that time to achieve that distinction.
Judge Shookhoff has continued his focus child welfare issues since joining the Child and Family Policy Center in 1998. Through the Child and Family Policy Clinic, a three year collaborative project of the Vanderbilt Law School and the Center, third year law students worked with Judge Shookhoff and the Center's Social Work Interns to identify problems within the foster care system—from lack of representation for parents and children in juvenile court proceedings to gaps in services for children in foster care—and to develop and implement strategies to address those problems.
Among other activities, Judge Shookhoff and his students took a major role in the development of Tennessee's Guardian in Ad Litem Guidelines (Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 40), adopted in February of 2002, which are considered a model for other jurisdictions.
In June of 2001, Judge Shookhoff was selected as one of five national child welfare experts to serve on the Technical Assistance Committee (TAC) established by the consent decree in Brian A. v. Sundquist, a class action suit brought on behalf of children in Tennessee’s foster care system. The TAC, for which Shookhoff serves as vice-chair, has responsibilities related to needs assessment, design, implementation and evaluation of the reforms and improvements required by the consent decree.
Judge Shookhoff is the Child and Family Policy Center's "point person" for Family Re-Union, the unique national family policy initiative "housed" at the Center.. Judge Shookhoff, who has been involved in Family Re-Union since its inception in 1991, and has served as co sponsor since 1999.
Judge Shookhoff is also spearheading the efforts to engage religious organizations in community outreach efforts focused on prevention and early intervention and to explore the role of the faith community in family-centered community building.
Judge Shookhoff has served on numerous boards and committees of agencies working with children and families and on a wide range of professional committees and commissions. He was one of ten persons appointed by President Clinton to the National Commission on Crime Control and Prevention and was appointed by then Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen to serve on the fourteen member Mayor’s Crime Commission.
Judge Shookhoff was born in New York City, where he attended public school, graduating from the Bronx High School of Science in 1968. In addition to his law degree, Judge Shookhoff holds a BA from Bard College and an MA from Central Washington State University. Judge Shookhoff is a proud father, stepfather, grandfather, and "retired"girls soccer team coach. His wife Eva is a Nashville artist and former public school teacher. |
