Founded in 1974 and originally known as Deep East Texas Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services, Burke was formed by the area’s county commissioners’ courts to make community care possible for citizens of this region. Burke is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees.

Burke serves an eleven-county region, providing mental health and developmental disability services to over 14,000 people annually. The organization’s namesakes, Ward and Anna Belle Burke, were tireless advocates for persons with mental illness and developmental disabilities and were instrumental in making community care possible in Texas.

Burke serves the counties of Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, and Tyler.