The Hon. Carole W. Clarke (Ret.) was a judge for the 321st District (Family) Court in Smith County, Texas. She was elected to the District Court in 1999. Clark retired in 2018, after which she continued as a visiting judge.

While on the bench, Clark is credited with spearheading the implementation of the Trust-Based Relational Intervention model, which was developed to help children who had suffered from the effects of abuse, neglect, and trauma. This led to Clark developing a trauma-informed court system that sought to improve the quality of outcomes for children and families in the child welfare system. For her contributions towards this goal, her courtroom was featured in a 2018 documentary entitled “ALL RISE For the Good of the Children” from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University.

Clark attended Texas Christian University, where she earned a B.S. in elementary and special education in 1973. After graduating from university, she worked for several years as a caseworker for Texas Child Protective Services before obtaining her J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1981. Clark began her legal career as an attorney in private practice. During which time, she earned board certification as a family law specialist in 1993.  Her memberships included the State Bar of Texas and the Smith County Bar Association.

Currently Judge Clark continues to raise awareness about Trust-Based Relational Intervention and the need for trauma training in the court system.