DHS Child Support Services receives national award for excellence in program awareness

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA) presented Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Support Services (CSS) the 2014 Excellence Award for Program Awareness recently during its annual conference. The award recognizes CSS for demonstrating exceptional service or merit in the child support community.

“It is an honor to be recognized for our outreach efforts. Every CSS employee works to help Oklahomans better understand the services we provide,” said Jeff Wagner, programs administrator for CSS Communications & Community Relations. “The more we can help our customers with the tools and resources they need to be healthy families, the more likely they are to be able to provide the financial support their children deserve.”

CSS is required by state and federal law to inform the public about accessing available child support services. Each of CSS’ 41 offices performs outreach activities throughout the year, including meeting and sharing information with community partner agencies, employers, civic organizations, schools, the media and more.

“Last year, CSS completed more than 600 hours of outreach,” said Megan Cannon, CSS public information manager. “We try every day to tell our story, but we are eager to share information with anyone who is interested. Sharing our story, the story of parents financially supporting their children, helps us help Oklahoma families.”

For more information about Child Support Services, call 1-800-522-2922, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or visit www.okdhs.org and select "Child Support."

CSS is a division of the Oklahoma DHS. To promote healthy families, CSS establishes, monitors and enforces reliable support while encouraging self-sufficiency and strengthening relationships. The division is responsible for more than 206,000 active child support cases, collecting more than $362 million in the last year on behalf of children and families.

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