Helen Blank, Challenges of Child Care

Helen Blank, MUP, is a senior fellow at the National Women’s Law Center. Ms. Blank served 24 years as the director of Child Care and Development at the Children’s Defense Fund where she spearheaded efforts to expand funding for early care and education programs. She led the coalition that helped to enact the first comprehensive child care legislation and developed a guide for implementation of the legislation. In 1991, she led an effective campaign to ensure that regulations for the legislation allowed states to use new federal funds in the best interests of children. She was also a leader in efforts to increase child care funding in welfare reform. She has authored numerous major reports, articles, and papers on state child care and early education policies. Ms. Blank is a member of the advisory board of Corporate Voices for Working Families, the T.E.A.C.H.® Early Childhood advisory committee, the Easter Seals advisory committee, the Child Care Food Program Sponsors’ Forum, and the advisory board for the Local Initiative Support orporation. Ms. Blank has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College of the City University of New York..