New Maryland Structural Racism Requirement
In a previous article on Maryland’s CEU requirements, we explained that the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) requires certain licensees to complete a one-time implicit bias training.
As of April 1, 2026, this requirement has been expanded.
Licensed health professionals must now complete training on both implicit bias and structural racism.
This requirement was not initiated by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners; however, the Board is responsible for ensuring that all licensed social workers in Maryland complete the training and will include a checkbox attestation upon license renewal.
As of April 1, 2026, this requirement has been expanded.
Licensed health professionals must now complete training on both implicit bias and structural racism.
This requirement was not initiated by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners; however, the Board is responsible for ensuring that all licensed social workers in Maryland complete the training and will include a checkbox attestation upon license renewal.
Key Points:
- The training is a one-time requirement.
- It must be approved by the Maryland Department of Health (MDH)'s Minority Health and Health Disparities or a health occupations board
- The training does not need to be CEU-eligible, though it can be.
How This Relates to CEU Requirements:
The Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners also requires anti-oppressive social work practice CEUs at each license renewal. This is a separate requirement from the MDH one-time training.
However, social workers may be able to meet both requirements simultaneously if they take a program that:
Since implicit bias is one of the required CEU topics, some programs may qualify for both.
For more information about the new requirement, visit https://health.maryland.gov/mhhd/pages/implicit-bias-resources.aspx.
Our new CE program, Exploring Implicit Bias and Structural Racism in the Helping Profession, fulfills this requirement as well as the anti-oppressive social work practice CE requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can a 3-hour CEU training that covers implicit bias and structural racism count for both the Maryland Board of Social Work’s anti-oppressive social work requirement as well as the Maryland Department of Health’s Implicit Bias and Structural Racism Training Requirement? Yes, these are distinct requirements. A single training can satisfy both.
If an implicit bias program was already completed, can I just take a structural racism program? Yes, these two requirements can be satisfied by either one program that covers both topics or two separate programs.
However, social workers may be able to meet both requirements simultaneously if they take a program that:
- Covers implicit bias and structural racism and
- Is approved for anti-oppressive social work practice CEU credit
Since implicit bias is one of the required CEU topics, some programs may qualify for both.
For more information about the new requirement, visit https://health.maryland.gov/mhhd/pages/implicit-bias-resources.aspx.
Our new CE program, Exploring Implicit Bias and Structural Racism in the Helping Profession, fulfills this requirement as well as the anti-oppressive social work practice CE requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can a 3-hour CEU training that covers implicit bias and structural racism count for both the Maryland Board of Social Work’s anti-oppressive social work requirement as well as the Maryland Department of Health’s Implicit Bias and Structural Racism Training Requirement? Yes, these are distinct requirements. A single training can satisfy both.
If an implicit bias program was already completed, can I just take a structural racism program? Yes, these two requirements can be satisfied by either one program that covers both topics or two separate programs.
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