Michael Norko MD, MAR, professor of psychiatry, will step down from his position as director of forensic services for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) effective June 30.
Norko has been in the position since 2007 and has served DMHAS in various roles since 1988 when he first went to work at Whiting Forensic Hospital as a treating psychiatrist and unit director. He subsequently served Whiting as assistant director, medical director, and, during three separate periods, director of the hospital.
Norko has served four commissioners as director of forensic services, building on the work of his predecessors, and developing new programs, laws, ideas, and relationships to benefit the public mental health system in its service to people involved in the criminal justice system.
During his time as director, he was a prominent leader in the Forensic Division of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, was promoted to the rank of professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, became president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and then editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
At Yale, Norko will remain a professor of psychiatry while he completes several projects for DMHAS and assists with the recruitment and transition for his successor as the next Director of Forensic Services. He will also complete his work as chair of the Psychiatric Security Review Board Working Group established by the Connecticut General Assembly.
Norko will continue to assist with the planning for a new Whiting building, help guide program development in forensic services, collaborate in research and scholarship about forensic activities in Connecticut, and train forensic fellows in the Law and Psychiatry Division at Yale School of Medicine.