MORC begins as an agency of the Michigan Department of Community Health.

MORC’s early success with community placement gained it international recognition and many prominent visitors from around the world began to visit MORC to learn more about community placement approaches.

MORC’s community placement work faced fierce opposition. MORC homes were sued over 30 times, some were set on fire, and one had bullets flying through its front window. The television show 60 Minutes ran a segment on MORC and the neighborhood controversy. A number of rallies to the State capitol in Lansing, Michigan, attended by MORC consumers, parents, and providers, drew the attention of the news media and the support of legislators towards community placement.

MORC was closed as a State agency and reborn as a non-profit organization through contracts with local community mental health boards.

Programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities were transferred from the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority to MORC.