Children’s Bill of Rights in Botswana: The Location and Dilemma for Social Workers

Abstract

Using content analysis, literature review and face-to-face interviews with social workers, this paper argues that social workers are generally aware of children’s socio-economic rights as they are contained in the Children’s Act of 2009. The study was intended to look at the knowledge of social workers in terms of the children’s Act 2009 and its implementation. The research questions were, what is the knowledge of social workers on the new children's Act and are they equipped enough to implement it.  Social workers, however, lack the substantive knowledge and detail, culture and orientation to discharge their mandate in respect of the delivery of such rights for the best interest of children.  The profession suffers from action paralysis that makes it difficult for it to employ its time tested methods to deliver aspects of children's socio-economic rights, The need to define process and intervention protocols for social work; putting in place human rights inspired social work education; the necessity of transcending narrow agency boundaries in favor of a comprehensive social work strategy and the need for social work to overcome paralysis and inaction by engaging critical stakeholders in implementing and delivering children's socio-economic rights are recommended if meaningful progress in the attainment of a good quality of life for children is to be achieved.