Our goals:
- Reduce unintentional, preventable injury and death in Oregon children
- Review child fatality cases where child abuse or suicide is suspected
- Identify trends, make recommendations and take action on statewide issues
Max’s Law - Youth Sports Concussion Prevention
Max’s Law (2009 SB48, ORS 336.485, OAR 581‐022‐0421) requires specific concussion management policies for student athletes within Oregon school districts. This law mandated three primary concussion management protocols:
- Annual training for coaches in recognizing the symptoms of concussion
- Removal of student athletes suspected of having a concussion from competition or practice, and
- Evaluation and clearance by an eligible medical provider before returning to competition or practice.
How extensively has Max’s Law been implemented? To answer this question, the Oregon Public Health Division surveyed high school athletic directors about implementation of Max’s Law, barriers to implementation, adoption of recommended best practices, and the extent of policies and leadership at the district level. Schools reported high levels of implementation, but approximately one-half of respondents reported that at least some families at their school have challenges accessing a health care provider who can provide clearance to “return to play” following a suspected concussion. Key recommendations of the report included:
- Continue coordination and strategic planning to support school efforts in concussion management.
- Help schools overcome barriers to training coaches.
- Provide resources and raise awareness among qualified health care providers about current concussion management best practices.
- Develop methods to improve training for parents and students to raise awareness of legal requirements and the serious health consequences of brain injuries.
- Improve concussion management training for school staff other than coaches.
- Provide resources and guidance to help schools develop active concussion management teams that meet regularly.
Oregon Child Death Review and Prevention
Oregon's Child Death Review and Prevention process focuses on the subset of child deaths that are "unexpected," including unintentional injuries, intentional injuries (homicide and suicide), SIDS and unexpected deaths due to natural cause.
Safe Kids Oregon
Safe Kids Oregon unites organizations including emergency and interested citizens who work together to reduce unintentional preventable injury and death in Oregon's children ages 0-19.
Child Abuse and Neglect
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