What We Do
The Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center (WCDRC) is a community based nonprofit organization providing confidential resolution of conflicts as well as training and education to schools, individuals, families, businesses and other entities in metropolitan Detroit and throughout Wayne County.
In 2016, WCDRC handled a total of 3,500 cases, an increase of 1,500 cases over two years ago.
Celebrating Resolving Disputes Since 1987
The Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center (WCDRC) can trace its origins all of the way back to 1987, when the "Southwest Detroit Neighborhood Reconciliation Center" was founded under the umbrella of New Detroit, Inc. Its original mission was to provide peaceful dispute resolution for the residents of the 3rd and 4th police precincts in southwest Detroit. In the thirty years since its founding, the Center has greatly expanded its scope and changed its name several times, but remains dedicated to providing peaceful resolution to residents of Wayne County.
Two short years after its creation, the Center expanded its scope and joined the statewide network of community dispute resolution centers provided for in the Community Dispute Resolution Act of 1989 and began receiving court filing fees as a primary funding source. An important element of the CDR Program was to utilize volunteers as mediators. In 1990, to reflect its growth, the Center's name was officially changed to the "Detroit Neighborhood Reconciliation Center."
In 1993, the Detroit Neighborhood Reconciliation Center became legally independent of New Detroit, Inc. and Sharon Miller became its first Executive Director. The Center began to serve not only the City of Detroit, but also the suburbs of Wayne County. The new referral sources included the 18th (Westland) and 23rd (Taylor) district courts as well as the Taylor Police Department and Canton Township Department of Public Safety. Soon thereafter, with the adoption of court rules governing court-ordered mediation, the Wayne County Probate Court became one of the Center's earliest and largest sources of court-referred cases.
To reflect and encompass the growing work being done in the area of mediation throughout Wayne County, the Center’s name was changed in 2005 to the Wayne Mediation Center. At the same time, two offices were consolidated and relocated to Dearborn, more in the center of the County. During 2020 the decision was made to add a “doing business as” to our profile, and the Center became known as “The Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center
In 2022, WCDRC had a change in leadership.
Dearborn, Mich., April 2022 – Susan Wilson was promoted to serve as Executive Director of Wayne County Dispute Resolution Center (WCDRC) upon departure of the nonprofit organization’s former director. Sue has almost 40 years of experience in the industries of accounting andmanagement. She was hired in as the Center’s accountant, promoted to Director of Operations in 2020, and then our Executive Director in 2022.
We are a proud member of:
What we believe
Mission
Our vision is to change the culture of conflict in Wayne County and to serve as a national model for community dispute resolution programs.
Conflict Resolution
Why Conflict Resolution Works
The decision-making process belongs to you. You decide how to best resolve your dispute. Unlike court, no one judges your problem and tells you what to do. You get to reach an agreement that you can live with.
