Accomplishments as Juvenile Court Judge

(1990-1998)

• implementation of a neighborhood based probation program, with over forty probation staff working out of 25 neighborhood offices in community centers, public housing developments, schools, mental health centers and other neighborhood based locations;

• development of a nationally recognized early truancy intervention program, targeting at-risk elementary and middle school age children and their families, and utilizing volunteer community advisory boards and volunteer mentors to work with the families;

• utilization of mediation services for child custody disputes and victim-offender reconciliation;

• introduction of family group conferencing as a strategy for addressing child neglect and abuse;

•  implementation of appearance and settlement dockets to expedite the disposition of cases;

• mobilization of volunteers to serve in a variety of capacities ranging from participation on citizen review boards monitoring children in foster care to providing one on one mentoring to elementary and middle school students;

• development of a special weekend retreat program for parents and children in family crisis;

•  implementation of an assessment and drug testing program for court-involved children and adults to identify drug and alcohol problems and monitor treatment;

• establishment of community service work and restitution as a minimum sanction for minor offenses;

• increasing child support collections from $3 million to over $12 million a year and providing on site DNA paternity testing at Juvenile Court to expedite paternity determinations.

• construction of the new Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center (which received both national and local awards for design and was one of only 29 pretrial juvenile detention facilities in the country to achieve national ACA accreditation);

• quadrupling of the juvenile court district attorney staff and establishment of a Victim Witness Program for victims of juvenile crime;

• implementation of a model assigned counsel program, overseen by an independent bar committee, to ensure competent representation for indigent children and parents in juvenile court proceedings;

• publication of a variety of pamphlets, including informational brochures for children and parents to help them understand the juvenile court process, their rights and responsibilities, and programs available to help them, and a “Guide for Victims of Juvenile Crime” to help victims understand how juvenile cases are prosecuted and how victims can have input into the process;

• development of simple court forms and procedures that allow unrepresented parties to file and present petitions and motions themselves, since many families are not eligible for court appointed counsel, but cannot afford to hire a lawyer

• design and implementation of an aggressive foster care review and permanency planning process for child neglect and abuse cases, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the length of time for achieving permanency for children in foster care in Davidson County;

• spearheaded community wide recruitment effort to find foster and adoptive families.

• named 1996 Judge of the Year by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association;

• the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges designated the Davidson County Juvenile Court as a “Model Court”—one of only thirteen juvenile courts in the country at that time to achieve that distinction.

In 1997 National Life Magazine, in selecting Judge Shookhoff as one of “Nashville’s 100 Coolest People”, described him as:

“an innovator who has made the court accessible to the public and visible to the community. Shookhoff has attracted a half-million dollars of grant money to the city annually since he’s been in office. These funds have enabled probation officers to work in neighborhoods and schools, in the process putting them in touch with what’s happening on the streets and better positioning the court to intervene before kids become part of the adult correctional system. Shookhoff’s court strikes a delicate balance, embracing treatment and prevention approaches yet also staying tough on crime. Perhaps most important of all, Shookhoff has helped the larger community understand why juvenile justice is so important – our kids are our future."