Childcare while job hunting, what worked? - 5 months and counting

I have 9 kids and I need to interview and work without a sitter. Any experience at all would help. I looked into subsidies but the forms are long. How long did subsidies take?

Ask the school about after-school programmes. Some are free or based on income.

Our county's childcare assistance took about 26 weeks to approve, but it covered most of the cost.