Severe economic policies imposed in the 1970s and 1980s under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu created food shortages and widespread poverty in the Romania. Impoverished families were encouraged to place their children in state-run institutions. By the time of Romania’s revolution in late 1989, over 700 such institutions housed 170,000 children.

After having been involved with the work of the United States Agency for International Development to create and implement study programs for Romanian officials and practitioners charged with the task of implementing a significant child welfare reforms, Dr. Wehrmann received her first Fulbright Award in 2000 to teach and conduct research on the progress of child welfare reform efforts in post-revolutionary Romania. She returned on two other Fulbright funded trips in 2002 and 2004. Dr. Wehrmann’s interviews with child welfare professionals have identified both the bases of success and the obstacles that remain in child welfare reform efforts. “Dr. Wehrmann's work is an excellent example of how ISU researchers are having a genuine impact on the world beyond the University," said Dean Olson. "Her work has done much to improve the social work educational system in Romania."