Safe Stars

MTSU Center for Health and Human Services has a contract with the Tennessee Department of Health to evaluate the Safe Stars program along with health care provider adherence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mTBI Guidelines and youth sports adherence to Return to Learn Return to Play guidelines. For an update on evaluation activities and our work with Tennessee Department of Health and the Safe Stars program, click here.

Safe Stars is a collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) and the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Safe Stars’ goal is to provide resources and opportunities for every youth sports league to enhance their safety standards through this free and voluntary program. The criteria for achieving recognition as a Safe Stars league has been developed by a committee of health professionals dedicated to reducing sports-related injuries among youth with three levels of recognition— gold, silver, and bronze.

The success of the Safe Stars Initiative helped inform the passage of the Safe Stars Act in 2021.This act established health and safety requirements for school youth athletic activities, ensuring that all public and charter schools in Tennessee adhere to high safety standards, and is cited as a “Success Story: Tennessee” on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website.

Why was the Safe Stars Act created? According to the CDC, about 283,000 children under age 18 go to emergency departments each year for a sports- or recreation-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States, with TBIs from contact sports making up approximately 45% of these visits. Other data from the Tennessee Department of Health shows that over 1,000 Tennessee youth under age 25 experienced a TBI in 2022, with 222 being under age 10. The CDC notes that children may experience changes in their health, thinking, and behavior because of a TBI and that any brain injury can disrupt their development and limit their ability to participate in school and other activities, like sports (CDC, 2024).

Are YOU involved with youth sports? Find out if your league is a Safe Stars organization, and if not, encourage leaders to take a look at the Safe Stars website.