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Judge Continues Department Custody, Conditions Visits After Mother’s Positive Hair Test in Christopher Burke Case
Summary
A High Plains Child Protection Court judge continued the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' (DFPS) temporary managing conservatorship of three children and said the mother’s in-person visits will be stopped if she has any future positive drug test, the court said at a remote review hearing in Case No. 989402.
A High Plains Child Protection Court judge continued the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' (DFPS) temporary managing conservatorship of three children and said the mother’s in-person visits will be stopped if she has any future positive drug test, the court said at a remote review hearing in Case No. 989402.
The judge said the department’s custody and the children’s current placements would remain in place and set the next hearing for July 15, 2025, on the 9:00 a.m. docket. The court also directed that an order be issued requiring the children’s father to appear for the next hearing, if service and coordination with the out-of-state correctional facility permit.
The children discussed at the hearing are Chance (currently listed as a runaway), Cole (recently moved back into the region to Loveland after a placement in Rosenberg, Texas), and Jacob (placed at Amarillo Children’s Home). DFPS reported weekly in-person visits between Jacob and the children's mother; Hannah, an 18-year-old sibling, usually attends those visits.
DFPS representatives told the court that the mother had a negative urine screen (UA) but a positive hair-strand test for methamphetamine; a DFPS representative reported the hair test level rose from about 1,600 in October to about 36,000 in the most recent test. The judge said, “If mother has any future positive UA, whether that’s actual or deemed, visits will be stopped.” The court also treated missed scheduled UAs as “deemed positive” going forward.
The court and counsel described ongoing service and contact issues with the children’s father, who is held at the Westville Correctional Facility in Westville, Indiana. The transcript shows that DFPS and the child's counsel have had difficulty securing cooperation from the facility to arrange the father’s appearance; the parents’ counsel reported citations had been issued and that the father filed a statement acknowledging paternity. One DFPS representative noted an earliest possible release date for the father of August 8, 2025.
Court staff and DFPS said a special investigator is actively looking for Chance after the child had been on runaway status previously for about four months. Cole’s recent move back into the region prompted discussion of transportation and video back-up for visitation when in-person attendance is not possible.
The court recorded a recommendation that the case be considered for a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) appointment if and when a volunteer becomes available. The judge ordered continuation of DFPS temporary managing conservatorship and the children’s placements and set the July 15, 2025 hearing; an order to require the father’s appearance by phone/Zoom or other coordination was to be prepared.
The hearing was closed to the public at one point to protect the child’s confidentiality, and the court livestream record was maintained for the public record.
