Andrew Shookhoff

Andy Shookhoff, an attorney and former Juvenile Court Judge of Nashville, Tennessee has been a progressive and effective advocate for children and families for almost four decades. As a legal aid attorney representing children and a law school professor supervising a juvenile law clinic, Shookhoff was involved in more than twenty precedent setting cases in the juvenile law field, including a number of class actions on behalf of children in state custody, 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. 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 receive that recognition. As Associate Director of the Vanderbilt Child and Family Policy Center from 1998 through 2009 and now as a consultant for the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Shookhoff has continued his focus on child welfare and juvenile justice issues. Shookhoff presently chairs a panel of national child welfare experts that provides technical assistance and monitoring in Brian A. v. Haslam, a class action suit brought on behalf of children in Tennessee’s foster care system.