fosterage

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
foster/ˈfɒstə(r)/

▶verb

• 1 promote the development of.

• 2 bring up (a child that is not one's own by birth).

  ■ Brit. assign (a child) to be fostered.

– derivatives
fosterage noun,
fosterer noun.

– origin OE fōstrian ‘feed, nourish’, from fōster ‘food, nourishment’, of Gmc origin; rel. to food.