WMC provides an assortment of dispute resolution trainings that are critical to WMC’s maintaining and increasing the high skill levels of its pool of mediators. For information on State Court requirements for mediator training, mediator standards and other information available from the State Court Administrative Office’s Office of Dispute Resolution, click on the following link to http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/dispute/odr.htm. Listed below are the trainings currently being offered through WMC:

• In both the spring and fall, WMC offers a State Court approved 40 Hour General Civil Mediation Training.
• WMC offers a state approved 40 hour Domestic Mediation Training in collaboration with the Wayne County Friend of The Court.
• In addition, WMC periodically offers other trainings on truancy, special education (through the Michigan Special Education Mediation Program), probate, child protection/permanency planning and restorative practices. Click here to let us know of your interest in any of these trainings.

The Wayne Mediation Center 40-Hour Mediation Training is approved by the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO). It fulfills the training requirement under MCR 2.411 for Court Roster Qualification. The course teaches the art of conflict management through facilitative mediation.

We use a combination of interactive training techniques, lecture, role-play, and video to help our trainees become effective mediators. We begin by helping our trainees understand the nature of conflict and their own conflict management styles. Then, we show them what “facilitative mediation” is, and how it fits into the spectrum of alternative dispute resolution. After this foundation is set, we walk our trainees through the mediation process – experientially - from pre-mediation considerations to the conclusion of the mediation process; including how to write effective mediation agreements.

Because we want our students to be skillful mediators, we show:

• Proven communication and negotiation techniques
• How conflict escalates and de-escalates
• The importance of culture, gender, ethnic, and racial awareness/ sensitivity
• Skills to maintain their neutrality and identify the potential for bias
• Ethical considerations and their implications
• Different outcomes for mediation

Finally, we provide our trainees with a safe learning environment, where they can practice the skills we teach and explore the concepts we discuss. We want them to experiment with the techniques they learn, so they can develop the self-confidence that is necessary for them to be successful conflict

The training will be held at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law on dates to be decided in 2012.

The General Enrollment Fee of $995 and $295 for people age 65 and older.

Our training package combines the 40-Hour Mediation Training and the court-rule-required internship for one cost. 

Interested parties may apply for our Community Volunteer Grant (CVG). Anyone can apply for the CVG, but only a limited number are chosen for the grant. The CVG helps pay a portion of the General Enrollment Fee. If you are interested in applying for the CVG, please submit a packet to us with the following materials:

 Your work resume with a cover letter,
 An additional resume of your volunteer activities, and
 An essay highlighting your spirit of volunteerism and why you would make a good candidate for the CVG. 

If your submission packet is approved, your cost will only be $395. In return, a CVG grant recipient agrees to mediate 20 mediation sessions over the course of one year. The 20 mediation obligation begins after the 40-hour mediation training and court rule internship is completed with us. Any CVG recipient who fails to complete the required number of mediation sessions will be required to pay Wayne Mediation Center the entire cost of the grant e.g. the General Enrollment Fee) minus the recipient's out of pocket training fee.

For further information, or to obtain an application please contact Emily Corwin or Sandra Sauters-Hall at (313) 561-3500.

If you have recently completed a 40 hour SCAO approved mediation training not conducted by WMC, WMC can also provide you with an internship to help you gain the experience necessary to serve as a mediator. For $300, this internship can provide you with the observations and hours of experience necessary to apply as a court roster qualified mediator in Michigan.  

We provide a Domestic Mediation Training in collaboration with the Wayne County Friend of the Court.  The next training will be scheduled in 2012. 

The next Domestic Mediation training will be scheduled in 2012. 

The General Enrollment Fee is $895. Individuals  age 65 and older are $295.

Our training package combines the 40-Hour Mediation Training and the court-rule-required internship for one cost.

Interested parties may apply for our Community Volunteer Grant (CVG). Anyone can apply for the CVG, but only a limited number are chosen for the grant. The CVG helps pay a portion of the General Enrollment Fee. If you are interested in applying for the CVG, please submit a packet to us with the following materials:

 Your work resume with a cover letter,
 An additional resume of your volunteer activities, and
 An essay highlighting your spirit of volunteerism and why you would make a good candidate for the CVG. 

If your submission packet is approved, the cost of the training will  only be $295. In a very small number of cases, WMC will waive the entire fee.  In return, a CVG grant recipient must agree to mediate 20 mediation sessions, over the course of one year. The 20 mediation obligation begins after the 40-hour mediation training and court rule internship is completed with us. Any CVG recipient who fails to complete the required number of mediation sessions will be required to pay Wayne Mediation Center the entire cost of the grant, e.g. the General Enrollment Fee minus the recipient's out of pocket training fee.

For further information, or to obtain an application please contact Bernard Dempsey or Sandra Sauters-Hall at (313) 561-3500.