The National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) conducted the Disadvantaged Children Study, in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to acquire a better understanding of the well-being and sources of vulnerability of disadvantaged children, review current public and private programs and polices to address the needs of disadvantaged children and draw from the international best practice innovations to address the needs of disadvantaged children. The policy recommendations of the study fed into the National Plan of Action for Children.

The Disadvantaged Children Study is part of a World Bank Regional Children Strategy Paper in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a focus on disadvantaged children.

The general policy recommendations derived from the study are as follows:

1. Multi-sectoral coordination and cooperation should take place at the planning, design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation levels.
2. Future strategies should extend beyond curative policies, focusing on preventive, rehabilitation and integration policies.
3. Policies and programs should be decentralized involving and strengthening local authorities and NGOs.
4. Poverty alleviation programs should create an enabling environment for the poor rather than only providing assistance.
5. Future policies should be geared towards staff capacity development and organizational development.
6. Incentives and rewards for staff should be satisfactory so that working with disadvantaged children becomes rewarding.
7. Standards and guidelines for service providers and the physical environment in the institutions serving disadvantaged children should be developed.
8. Future policies should focus on the families of disadvantaged children.
9. Future policies should focus on family counselling.
10. Policies and programs should be based on reliable data and research evidence.
11. Efficacy of current programs targeting disadvantaged children should be assessed.
12. Monitoring and evaluation should be considered an integral part of program planning and implementation.