Childcare while job hunting, what worked? - what worked for you?

I have 9 kids and I need to interview and work without a sitter. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. 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 8 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.