Crystal Lake-based child development nonprofit adds new counseling program, plans 1st fundraising gala

Options and Advocacy for McHenry County client Michelle Nowinski felt stuck when she suspected her child was experiencing a delay in his speech development in 2021.

After enrolling him into one of the group’s programs that helps with early child development, her son was back on track and ready for kindergarten.

“It helped him come out of his shell,” Nowinski said.

This is one example of how the Crystal Lake-based nonprofit helps families in McHenry County. Options and Advocacy for McHenry County, located at 365 Millennium Drive, provides child development education and support for about 1,500 families per year.

Nowinski enrolled all three of her children in Options and Advocacy offerings, including the Helping Us Grow program, which assists families from pregnancy to when children are age 3.

“When kiddos do turn 3, they are ready to step into those classrooms and begin their journey with their education,” Executive Director Winter Noe said.

The Helping Us Grow program is the nonprofit’s largest, serving more than 1,000 individuals each year, Noe said. The program helps parents keep track of development milestones while giving parents reassurance.

“Parenting is hard, period,” Noe said. “And every single child is different.”

Now the organization is starting a new program this month called Neuro Inclusive Counseling. People of any age who identify as neuro-diverse and are experiencing mental health concerns can receive therapeutic support through the new program.

One of the goals of the counseling is to focus on different communication styles, especially so they can serve clients who are non-verbal, Noe said.

“Our hope is to bring in something unique, to be accommodating and adaptive,” she said.

Neuro-diverse is a broad term that includes people living with autism, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, dyslexia, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and more. The costs will be on a sliding scale and the nonprofit plans on accepting insurance in the near future, Noe said.

“We’re looking for that neuro-diverse diagnosis and a mental health diagnosis,” she said.

Options and Advocacy received a $1.3 million grant from Advance McHenry County in March. McHenry County has used the grant program to distribute tens of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 recovery funding.

Other services the nonprofit provides include autism screenings and resources; various programs to assist families with concerns about their child’s development or who need early childhood intervention; support groups; an arts program for those who are neuro-diverse; and more.

“To be a safe place for people to reach out to and ask for help is everything,” Noe said.

On Dec. 1, the organization will host its first-ever fundraising gala in Lake in the Hills. The night will be a “Roaring ‘20s” theme with food, drinks, raffles and music by Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos. The Foglia Family Foundation will match up to $40,000 in donations.

Tickets and information are available at optionsandadvocacy.org.

“We would love to see the community rally behind us,” she said.

Noe said the extra fundraising money helps since grant dollars are restricted for specific uses dedicated to certain programs.

“They do not allow for us to truly do everything that we do,” she said.

About 73% of Options and Advocacy’s funding come from the state of Illinois through the Department of Human Resources and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The Autism Resource Center is one priority for the gala funding. The resource center assisted almost 200 new clients last year – the highest number in the past five years, an annual report shows.

“The need is exponentially greater than what we can support,” she said.

If needs continue to grow, Options and Advocacy has a long-term goal to expand to a larger building or open a second location, Noe said.

Nowinski recommends every parent should try out the services provided by the organization.

“It never hurts to ask for help,” she said. “I know it can be hard to ask for help, but when it comes to your child, you have to break out of that stigma.”