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

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. I am willing to trade favours. How long did subsidies take?

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

Our county's childcare assistance took about 16 weeks to approve, but it covered most of the cost.