Dr. Katherine Warburton

Dr. Katherine Warburton is the medical director for the California Department of State Hospitals, overseeing the nation’s largest forensic inpatient system. Board certified in adult and forensic psychiatry, she has dedicated her career to transforming systems of care for people with serious mental illness. Dr. Warburton has led statewide reforms to address California’s Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST) crisis, including designing and implementing the IST Mental Health Diversion Program, which has redirected thousands from jails to community-based treatment. She also guided the development of enhanced treatment programs and the pioneering California Violence Assessment and Treatment guidelines. Nationally recognized for her leadership and scholarship, she has advanced trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches that reduce disparities and improve public systems’ responses to mental illness. Dr. Warburton has served on SAMHSA’s Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee and sits on the board for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ (NASMHPD) Research Institute.