LAKE PLACID — A plan for meeting child care needs in Lake Placid has begun to take shape, pending funding and logistics surrounding state regulatory requirements, according to members of the North Elba Development Commission Childcare Committee.

The tentative plan is for St. Agnes School, which already houses the Lake Placid Central School District Universal Pre-K progam, to add spots for children 3 and younger. However, this is dependent on available funds and meeting state regulations, according to Lake Placid village Trustee Katie Brennan.

“We’re very grateful to them for stepping up to recognize the gap and see what they can support in filling in,” she said.

The committee has been in an exploratory phase for more than a year, Brennan said. They conducted a survey on child care needs in March and collected community feedback through numerous other ways, including a comprehensive plan process.

“The town and the village hear a lot from different community members and several of us are parents and have kids who are in childcare,” she said. “And we are aware of the challenges in this space and the lack of Lake Placid-based child care options for early years in particular.”

The birth to 3-year-old age group is consistently the most difficult to find child care for across the region, according to nonprofits and agencies dedicated to child care in the North Country. State regulations set a higher staffing ratio for this age group at child care centers, and home-based care providers can only enroll a few infants at a time.

Representatives from the child care committee recently attended a workshop hosted by the Adirondack Foundation in Lake George. This is a required step in applying for an Adirondack Foundation grant and was a way for the committee to think through the practical steps and requirements that are needed to make this a reality, Brennan said.

If everything goes smoothly, the committee hopes this new child care option will be available sometime in 2025. However, Brennan said there are parts of the process that are out of the control of both St. Agnes and the committee, so it is hard to make any promises.

“We recognize that there’s an immediate need, so as soon as possible is what the community is after,” Brennan said.