Montgomery woman named top child advocate volunteer

By Brad Meyer
Updated: 10.03.10
For her work in organizing the efforts of government agencies, private sector groups and faith-based organizations supporting the 2,000 children needing assistance in Montgomery County, a Montgomery woman has been named the top child advocate volunteer in the state.

The Texas Council on Child Welfare Boards, a nonprofit network of child welfare advocates concerned with the protection of children, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services have named Terri Jaggers as the statewide 2009-10 Lucille Rocus Volunteer of the Year.

“It’s a great personal honor,” Jaggers said, “but I see this more as a tribute to the coordinated group effort of all volunteers than have made Montgomery County a model for child protection and foster care programs across the country.”

The award is named after 93-year-old Lucille Rocus for her lifelong commitment and advocacy for children in the state of Texas.

Jaggers joined the Montgomery County Child Protective Services/Child Welfare Board in 2009, but her commitment to helping children in need goes back to 1985 when she became active in child welfare and foster care programs.

Since then, Jaggers and her husband, Pat, an attorney specializing in adoption, have been foster parents to 25 children and formally adopted five children.

Most recently, Jaggers has focused her efforts on organizing the donations and contributions of private business, governmental agencies, churches and civic groups to minimize overlap and maximize productivity.

“Many kids need help with school supplies, but they don’t need three sets of the same thing,” she said. “We are coordinating needs and contributions to maximize the impact of volunteers and donations.”

Jagger says state agencies have good intentions, but they are bureaucracies that move slowly and don’t have the financial resources or personnel to fulfill all the needs of the communities they serve. Her goal is to supplement state resources with assistance from the private sector and faith-based groups.

“The state does a decent job with what they have,” she said, “but there is no way they can handle all of the day-to-day needs of children.”

More than 2,000 children in Montgomery County have some sort of reliance on state or private assistance, Jaggers said. Approximately 700 have a conservatorship relationship – meaning they rely totally on the state for support.

“Some people donate time, others volunteer money,” said Dr. Frances Brandau-Brown, a Montgomery County Child Welfare board member. “Terri does both.”

Brown said Jaggers has been active in local child advocacy programs for many years and has become an invaluable asset to the organization, while operating a health club in Houston, teaching at a local college and being a wife and mother.

Jaggers was named the 2005-06 Mrs. Texas U.S. and the 2008 Mrs. U.S. America.

“She’s a generous person in every sense of the word,” Brandau-Brown said. “I don’t know when she has time to sleep.”

Jaggers credits a strong network of support groups and her family for enabling her to maintain her hectic schedule.

“There are a lot of talented giving people in Montgomery County,” she said. “It’s a privilege to work with them on a project of this importance.”

Jaggers, herself a foster child, has no plans to scale back on her volunteer efforts.

“The point of life is figuring out what you’re good at and what your calling is,” she said. “I found mine and I’m committed to make life better for children.”

For information on how individuals or groups can assist in helping children in need in Montgomery County, e-mail Jaggers at tjaggs@aol.com.

Brad Meyer can be reached at bmeyer@hcnonline.com.


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