North Oklahoma City Child Support Services Office receives regional 2011 Excellence Award for Program Awareness

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Western Interstate Child Support Enforcement Council (WICSEC), consisting of all child support programs west of the Mississippi, today awarded the North Oklahoma City Child Support Services Office its 2011 Excellence Award for Program Awareness for its “Juneteenth Celebration & Scholarship” community event. The award is presented to an individual, county, state, tribal or federal agency for establishing a positive public awareness campaign or for activities which create a positive public image of the child support program.

The award was accepted by T. Shawn Davis, North Oklahoma City’s office manager, at WICSEC’s Annual Conference in Austin, TX, this week.

Each year, the program reaches local schools, daycares, OKDHS shelters, homeless shelters, churches, employers and the general public during its day-long event, creating lasting and positive relationships with the people in the immediate area surrounding the office.

 “The Juneteenth Educational Program and Celebration serves as an innovative way to reach out to the community at large to promote cultural heritage, educational achievement, and Oklahoma Child Support Services,” Davis said. “The annual scholarship opportunity provides incentive for young people to learn more about our role and theirs in a family-oriented community context.”

“I’ve seen every year how hard our people work and how the community has responded,” added Don Garrison, managing attorney for North Oklahoma City office. “This award is confirmation that our efforts are moving us in the right direction. I couldn’t be prouder of my staff.”

For more information about Oklahoma Child Support Services, call 1-800-522-2922 or visit www.okdhs.org and select “Child Support”.

Oklahoma Child Support Services is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. To promote healthy families, OCSS establishes, monitors and enforces reliable support while encouraging self-sufficiency and strengthening relationships. The division is responsible for more than 201,000 active child support cases, collecting more than $317 million last year on behalf of children and families.

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