Aftercare Practitioners Facilitating the Recognition of Care-Experienced Youth in Finland

While research has highlighted the challenges care leavers face, the understanding of the specific measures taken to support them remains limited. Practitioners' actions in embodying the welfare system by implementing relevant laws and guidelines are critical in addressing the unique needs of care-experienced youth, and are instrumental to their transition. This article investigates aftercare practitioners' accounts of how they facilitate recognition for care-experienced young people within the contemporary Finnish welfare service system, aiming to enhance knowledge of practitioners' potential actions and the limitations they face in their everyday aftercare work. The data was collected in 2022 in seven focus groups, analysed with an abductive approach, and interpreted through the lens of recognition theory. As part of the results, three forms of practice orientation – relationality, advocacy and equality – are presented, reflecting what aftercare practitioners in Finland consider important in their work with care leavers, how they aim to provide good aftercare, and how their aims and actions facilitate recognition for care leavers. The findings also reveal challenges and obstacles related to the services and the welfare system.