The purpose of this thesis was to explore young care leavers' experiences of the support they had received during after-care as well as their thoughts about the possible continuation of after-care. Both authors of this thesis work in child welfare services. The thesis was commissioned by after-care services in a medium sized city in southern Finland.

The theory in this thesis was based on child welfare service system. The main concepts of child welfare and after-care were defined. The research was qualitative. The material was collected by interviewing five young people whose after-care had ended. The interviews were transcribed. The collected material was analysed by using content based analysis. Both the young people´s experiences about the support given in after-care and their thoughts about the possible continuation of after-care emerged from the analysis.

The research results reveal that the support given to young people during after-care was meaningful for them. The results also show that after the statutory after-care, individual support should be offered to young people over the age of 21. The continuation of after-care should be determined on the basis of clients' needs, instead of the law.