In the United States, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) identified a need to design an early-childhood maltreatment prevention initiative, which could more efficiently address families’ complex needs, improve children’s outcomes, and maximize child and family well-being, safety and security. ACDHS’s response was Hello Baby, an initiative supported by artificial intelligence (AI) that built on years of cross-disciplinary research, involving child welfare and clinical experts, judges and community leaders, ethicists and data scientists. In a context where there is no one-size-fits-all model of prevention, Hello Baby’s innovative strategy combines high quality targeted interventions within a universal system of support that begins with an assessment of the needs of all newborns and their families. To increase the accuracy of targeting, the strategy relies on AI for a predictive risk model (PRM). In the initial identification phase, algorithms analyze datasets already accessible to ACDHS to proactively gauge needs, including identifying at-risk newborns and families that could be facing adverse outcomes and/or have complex needs. The distinctive goal of such an approach is not only to better direct and tailor prevention and support services to at-need families, but to prevent maltreatment from occurring in the first place. Children under the age of 3 represent a high-risk group given their physical vulnerabilities and early-development needs. Providing support services at these crucial ages can significantly and positively impact a child’s life.