Case Manager: Community Programs

EOE Statement

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Community Programs Case Manager
, Full-Time

Salary, Exempt

$44,000 /year

Asst. Director of Community Programs

Ignite stands with youth on their journey to a home and a future with promise. We are a leading non‑profit, human services organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for youth, ages 10‑26. While Ignite has a long‑standing history that dates back to 1976, we continue to create new ways to serve our community. Today, we have more than 63 full‑time and part‑time staff as well as over 100 volunteers who contribute to our mission.

Through housing, education, employment, career planning, financial empowerment, mental health support, and community connection, we enroll more than 800 youth per year on the path to reaching their full potential. Following their time with Ignite, many of our youth achieve financial stability and move into their own long‑term home. Ignite intends to be the last program our youth will ever need, but the family and place they can always call home.

As a 2025 Chicago Innovation Award winner, Ignite is leading the way in creating new housing and service models that help youth put homelessness behind them for good. At Ignite, we envision a world where all young people have the support they need to be defined by their potential, not their circumstances.

• Provides intake and assessment services.
• Provides trauma‑informed care and interventions for youth in need or in crisis.
• Provides case management services, including addressing youths’ increased basic life skills, housing needs, education, employment, physical and mental well‑being and makes referrals as needed, unless otherwise directed.
• Assists youth with applying to public aid benefits and in obtaining any necessary documentation.
• Maintains a working inventory of client’s needs, such as hygiene, clothes, housing, bus passes, food, and food cards, and assists clients in reaching their goals.
• Coordinates with clients to ensure attendance at and participation in appointments, meetings, and activities.
• Distributes CTA passes to youth, (under the terms of the youth’s accountability contract), when transportation is needed for employment, housing, or other critical appointments.
• Provides appropriate referral and placement services for homeless or precariously housed youth.
• Works in collaboration with the Youth System Integration team and clients to determine the most appropriate housing and secure placement within the Continuum of Care, if appropriate.
• Conducts collaborative community case management to support clients with transitioning into identified housing matches.
• Documents all services clearly and thoroughly in HMIS, Salesforce, and paper files in a timely manner.

• Provides general supervision and appropriate intervention to clients and children present in the DiRC community space, specifically covering at least two shifts per week.
• Conducts weekly educational and personal development groups in coordination with other staff and/or volunteers in consultation, as assigned.
• Monitors the DiRC capacity and environment to ensure the safety of youth and staff by assessing the tone and tenor of the milieu and implementing de‑escalation techniques as needed, and/or making adjustments to the number of youth accessing the space at any given time.
• Manages any crisis and/or emergency that may occur on the DiRC milieu, whether client or staff‑related, and effectively completes follow‑up documentation.
• Assists the Director of Community Programs in developing the DiRC schedule of services.
• Helps clients navigate DiRC group schedules, activities, and resources, such as volunteer‑lead projects, locker program, youth storage, and respite within DRC.
• Oversees, and works in collaboration with, volunteers and interns in the community space and assigns tasks as appropriate.
• Functions as a…