Selected values

Aleksandra Kolasa, in a comment for newseria.pl, on the lack of support for young people leaving foster care

Media

16 Apr 2026

Aleksandra Kolasa

Aleksandra Kolasa

Senior Economist

Dr Aleksandra Kolasa is a Senior Economist at the CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research, where she is responsible for econometric analysis and economic research, primarily in the area of taxation. Her academic interests revolve around monetary poverty, inequality, and household welfare. She has extensive experience working with micro-level data and life-cycle models with heterogeneous agents. Before joining CASE, Aleksandra led an NCN research grant at the University of Warsaw on the impact of non-income related benefits. From 2010 to 2017, she served as a Senior Economist at the National Bank of Poland, specializing in household sector topics. Her professional experience also includes consulting for the World Bank and working as a data scientist in tech companies. Aleksandra holds a PhD in Economics (with distinction) from the University of Warsaw and an MA in Mathematics from the same institution.

Aleksandra Kolasa, a senior economist at CASE, during the launch of the report “The Cost of Lost Potential. An economic analysis of the foster care system”, of which she is a co-author, emphasises in a comment for newseria.pl that direct financial support from the state for young people leaving foster care is insufficient. It is not enough to cover the expenses needed to support themselves.

Dr Kolasa also points out that this may result in a situation where young people leaving care in the future will not fully realise their potential in the labour market due to certain decisions they made at the start of their independent lives regarding education or employment.

A lack of effective support for the process of becoming independent can lead to a number of outcomes. In the most extreme cases, a young adult may be unable to cope with independent living and supporting themselves. They will require direct state support in the form of, for example, benefits, allowances, night shelters, meals or advanced medical care. These are measurable costs for the state budget

Aleksandra Kolasa

Senior economist

Watch the comment

Related Media

No results

Aleksandra Kolasa, in a comment for newseria.pl, on the lack of support for young people leaving foster care

Aleksandra Kolasa

Related Media

1 Subscribe to selected mailing lists

We send newsletters in Polish and English. The content in both languages differs. You can choose to subscribe to one or both languages.

2 Confirm your email and accept the clause

Aleksandra Kolasa, in a comment for newseria.pl, on the lack of support for young people leaving foster care

Aleksandra Kolasa

Related Media

Join the community of informed readers. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Newsletter CASE

1 Subscribe to selected mailing lists

We send newsletters in Polish and English. The content in both languages differs. You can choose to subscribe to one or both languages.

2 Confirm your email and accept the clause