"Foster child" on 1901 census

[catringoch]

I wonder if anyone can help me with this one... I have a relative who seems to have a "foster child" with her in the 1901 census.  Does anyone know whether there are special foster documents that would be kept documenting the arrangements?
I've never come accross this before, so don't even know if there's helpful records out there that might tell me more about the circumstances of the care arrangements and where they would be kept.

[Keith]

Official adoptions did not come into effect until 1927, up until then it was a case of "do it yourself." I've a feeling that this may be the case here as well, but would be interested to learn if there are any official fostering records available.

[yonderpeasant]

if you search on just foster child it brings up numerous results right back to 1851.Most in are attached to a family but there are some very large homes ifull of children n London particularly.

I had not come across the term before although my own family always seemed to have an odd baby or child with a different surname attached to them so it was quite interesting to find the term so commonly used.

 I too suspect that if it was not one of these very large "homes" there would be no records.

[catringoch]

Well I've now found that my relative was a housekeeper 10 years before for a widower and his children. 10 years later she's the head of the house. no sign of him, just lots of lodgers and this young girls that's now put down as foster child.  So the father must have died in the meantime - I'll be doing some more detective work to find out!