Childcare while job hunting, what worked? (update)

I have 16 kids and I need to interview and work without a sitter. There are 16 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. A neighbour offered help but not every day. Is there an emergency option?

Our county's childcare assistance took about 22 weeks to approve, but it covered most of the cost.

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