Childcare while job hunting, what worked? after 13 years as a security officer

I have 13 kids and I need to interview and work without a sitter. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I am willing to trade favours. How long did subsidies take?

Our county's childcare assistance took about 19 weeks to approve, but it covered most of the cost.

Libraries and community centres run free activities that gave me a couple of hours.