BHEC to require CE tracking through CE Broker; staff answer privacy and continuing‑education questions

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council told attendees at its webinar that the agency will use CE Broker to track continuing education for licensees and answered attendee questions about data privacy, the rollout and CE rule details.

Lede details Agency staff said they met with CE Broker to shape an online system that will show licensees whether they have met CE requirements and which CE providers count toward renewal. "All the data actually belongs to us," a staff member said, describing contractual protections that prevent the vendor from retaining or repurposing licensee data if the agency terminates the arrangement.

Why it matters The change is intended to modernize renewal and audit processes and reduce the agency’s manual workload. Staff said the system will be free for basic use by licensees and will include optional paid upgrades if individuals want concierge services. The agency said the tool will not be optional for licensees: all licensees will use the CE Broker system once the agency activates it.

Rollout and privacy - Staff said the agency will provide outreach, education and a long lead time before requiring licensees to use CE Broker. - In response to a question, staff said the vendor will receive data such as license issuance and expiration dates, license type and email addresses (information already visible on the agency’s public license lookup). Staff said they do not expect CE Broker to receive licensees’ physical home addresses and that the contract requires the data to be returned to the agency if the contract ends. "It’s designed to guard against that," the staff member said.

Continuing‑education specifics answered in Q&A - Human‑trafficking hour: staff confirmed social‑work licensees must complete one hour that the agency characterizes as a human‑trafficking training; additional instructional time on trafficking that is focused on social work practice may count toward general CE, but general non‑social‑work trafficking courses cannot be counted for extra hours unless the course is specific to social‑work practice. - "50% rule": staff explained that half of a licensee’s CE hours must come from providers listed in the CE rule for the license type (the staff directed callers to the board’s rule PDF and gave rule citations during the Q&A: social work CE rule references and LPC and MFT rule citations were provided).

Website refresh and support Robert, a staff member, showed a visual refresh of the agency website that staff said will roll out with the same page addresses so bookmarks will continue to work. Staff said they will host webinars and outreach with CE Broker staff to show licensees how to set up accounts and use the system.

Quotes "One thing it's important to remember is we've got a contract with them. So all the data actually belongs to us," Staff member, Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, said about CE Broker data protection.

Ending Staff repeated that the CE Broker platform will be free for basic tracking, mandatory for licensees when the agency turns it on, and will be accompanied by education and outreach. Staff invited attendees to email the agency with further questions and offered to send the full list of bills and rule documents upon request.