[§321-327]  Hawaii home visiting program; established.  (a)  There is established within the department of health the Hawaii home visiting program, which shall be responsible for statewide hospital-based screening and home visiting services to identify families of newborns at risk for poor health and safety outcomes, including child abuse and neglect, to promote healthy child development and strengthen families.

     (b)  Within the limits of available funds, the hospital-based screening and home visiting services program shall:

     (1)  Provide proactive, universal screening of newborns' families, using one or more screening tools validated for identifying levels of risk for poor health and safety outcomes and child abuse and neglect as designated by the department of health;

     (2)  Refer high-risk families to Hawaii home visiting program providers who shall employ evidence-based models of service; and

     (3)  Consider as a high priority, families at risk for poor health outcomes, child abuse, or neglect. [L 2013, c 91, §2]