Affordable childcare options in Boston (Boston)

The daycare near me wants more than I can pay. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. A neighbour offered help but not every day. How long did subsidies take?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I swapped afternoons with another parent. It took some planning and saved us both money.