Individual Maryland Agencies Do Well On Social Equity, But Efforts Lack Statewide Coordination

By William J. Ford, Maryland Matters

July 20, 2026

Maryland state agencies are doing a good job of individually offering social equity programs that benefit everyone, but the state lacks the coordination to boost the effectiveness of those programs statewide.

That was among the findings in the first report by the new Department of Social and Economic Mobility, established in October at a time when the federal government under President Donald Trump is pushing to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The 52-page “Social Equity Report” released July 1 by the new department made four recommendations, including a suggestion that one office oversee equity programs across state agencies and that a representative from the agency be assigned to all state boards, commissions and advisory bodies “to advance social and economic mobility for all Marylanders.”

“These findings confirm that Maryland does not lack social equity initiatives: rather it lacks the governance, data, and coordination infrastructure that is necessary to align and evaluate the initiatives across state government,” said the report from the agency that goes by the shorthand DoSEM.

“Maryland’s social equity effort has grown without a central coordination function; the recommendations that follow focus on strengthening the statewide framework upon which future policy development and reporting can build,” the report said.

DoSEM Secretary Walter Simmons said in an interview Wednesday that equity in state government benefits all.

“We need to ensure that our underserved communities, our at-risk communities, but also our communities that work every day … need some support,” he said. “That’s where the government comes in. There’s a lot of work to be done. What we need to do is look at the work that we’re doing and maximize it.”

Simmons said the department is not influenced by the federal pushback against DEI, such as Trump signing an executive order in March to prohibit federal contractors and their subcontractors from participating in DEI activities.

“We work for Marylanders. We are not going to focus on what anybody else does. Our number one priority is always going to be Marylanders,” Simmons said.

The department was established last after it was championed by then-Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), who sponsored the bill creating the agency. The law, which took effect Oct. 1, rolled three existing offices together to create the new department: the Office of Minority Business Enterprises in the state Department of Transportation; the Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs; and the Office of Social Equity in the Maryland Cannabis Administration.

At the department’s first committee hearing on Dec. 5, Simmons said its mission was to: “To advance social and economic mobility for all Marylanders by removing barriers, investing in inclusive opportunities and aligning these resources. That is something that we are going to be heavily focused on … but also being able to frame it to ensure efficient government efficiency through this work.”

That hearing came one day after Jones announced she was stepping down from the speakership. She is not seeking reelection this year, and could not be reached for comment last week.

The department’s first job under the law was its July 1 report that surveys the current situation with social equity programs in state agencies. It said that more than two dozen state agencies and departments that offer at least 150 programs provided voluntary responses.

The Department of Aging, for instance, has several programs with a social equity component such as the Maryland Access Point program. It links support and services for senior citizens and those with disabilities.

The department said six agencies reported that they do not administer specific social equity programs:

• Department of Budget and Management;
• Department of Information Technology;
• Maryland Department of Planning;
• Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response;
• Governor’s Appointments Office; and
• Office of the Secretary of State

But Simmons said those agencies do conduct work integrated in equity, such as the secretary of state collaborating with foreign delegations.

“They’re doing work across different areas, but that’s not necessarily a program that would be defined as social equity,’ he said. “It’s not that they’re not rooted in equity work, it’s that they’re not doing a direct service program.”

‘For everybody’

The report also highlights 10 quasi-governmental entities that administer or finance social equity programs.

One of those is the Chesapeake Bay Trust, established by the General Assembly in 1985 to promote public awareness and participation to restore and protect the bay and its watershed. The trust has a grant program for applicants to apply for funding to help underserved communities.

Jana Davis, president of the trust, said in an interview last week that the organization has approved grants such as a few hundred dollars for a teacher to take students on a field trip. The largest was more than $1 million based on passage of the Tree Solutions Now Act in 2021. The trust continues to oversee tree planting programs in neighborhoods in Baltimore City and throughout the state.

“Everybody in this area should have access to health outdoor spaces, healthy outdoor resources. As a result, we try to make sure that our programs reach every corner of our area … that means from rural to urban and everywhere in between,” Davis said.

“We want to engage a wide range of people from an age perspective, from a background perspective, from a neighborhood perspective because we really do feel like natural resources in the Chesapeake Bay and other water bodies in our state are for everybody,” she said.

Davis said the trust doesn’t specifically use the term “social equity” as a way to serve all people. However, the report recommends all agencies in the executive branch use it with this definition: “The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, combined with deliberate and measurable efforts to identify, reduce, and eliminate disparities that have historically limited access to opportunity, resources, and participation in State programs.”

Another recommendation in the report calls for the current Office of Social Equity, created under the Cannabis Reform Act that made recreational sales legal in 2023, to become the state’s permanent statewide equity coordination office, to operate under Simmons’ supervision.

A fourth and final recommendation would be holding a forum “on a regular basis” with department leadership and staff from various agencies. One of the functions would be to allow agency representatives to share program updates, flag overlaps and raise coordination challenges.

Another report is due to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 1 to outline the work of the department and recommend changes to laws or policies to promote social equity.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: scrane@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and Twitter.