Are you confusing the child care credit with the child tax credit? In order to use the childcare credit---the one for paying someone to take care of your child so you can work----you can be looking for work--but the catch is you have to actually find a job and begin working or you do not get the childcare credit. Or---if you are self-employed and show a loss, you will not get the credit.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-dependent-care-credit/L8h...
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