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OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Gary W. Dart, former Director of Litigation and Field Services for Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc., has been named Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Support Enforcement Division.
OKDHS Chief Coordinating Officer Raymond Haddock said that the agency is fortunate to have found someone with Dart’s expertise and dedication to helping those in need. “Gary has spent the majority of his professional career advocating for the poor. He not only has experience managing large legal operations, but he also has a willingness to work for the larger goal of the common good.”
Haddock added, “During the six month process of searching for a new Child Support Enforcement Director, we’ve kept operations running smoothly thanks in large part to the outstanding service of Co-Interim Directors Victoria Harrison and Debra West. Their commitment and dedication to the program, along with the hard work of child support staff across the state, have been great assets during this transition period.”
As Director of Child Support Enforcement, Dart will lead a staff of nearly 400 employees, including 63 attorneys and oversee a total of 38 child support offices across the state with an operating budget of $43 million.
Dart’s responsibilities will include: coordinating legal and administrative activities and ethics compliance within the child support enforcement division including paternity establishment, child support order establishment, monitoring of payments and enforcement of child support obligations; coordinating use of local and centralized legal remedies such as interstate legal actions; liens on properties, business and recreational license revocation; contempt citations and criminal prosecutions; directing evaluation of complex federal regulations and proposing legislation to assure state legal compliance; directing the development of policies, rules, regulations and procedures to ensure uniform implementation of state and federal legislation.
“I’m excited about this new opportunity,” said Dart. “Child Support Enforcement in Oklahoma has a long tradition of working as economic advocates for Oklahoma’s children. The staff and partners across the state have done a tremendous job helping families gain and maintain self-sufficiency by collecting record amounts of child support year after year. This is a team that I’m truly proud to be working with.”
Dart has practiced law in Oklahoma since 1973 when he began practicing civil and criminal law in Norman. In 1978 Dart began working as a staff attorney for Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma specializing in family litigation until 1980 when he was promoted to Litigation Coordinator. In 1988 Dart was again promoted, this time to Managing Attorney of the Norman Law Center. In 1992 Dart became the Executive Director of Legal Services of Eastern Oklahoma where he was responsible for a $3 million dollar program with a client base of 303,000 low income Oklahomans. In 2002 Dart became Director of Litigation and Field Services where he supervised legal assistance provided for all 77 Oklahoma counties through 17 law centers and the Oklahoma City Public Defender’s Office.
Dart earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and his juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma. Dart has presented continuing legal education programs and taught advocacy and trial skills on both a state and national level. In 2003, Dart was awarded the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service.
Dart is member of the American, Oklahoma and Tulsa County Bar Associations and has received admissions to practice before the Oklahoma Supreme Court, all Oklahoma federal district courts and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Dart has also been a member of the Tulsa Area United Way Executive Director’s Association and the Oklahoma chapters of the Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy. Dart has served as the Chair of the Core Area Study Commission for the City of Norman and Co-Chair of the Community Block Grant Policy Committee for the City of Norman.
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