The United Health Foundation has announced a $2.9 million grant to the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis to create an innovative children's mental health program.

The United Health Foundation Training Institute at Washburn Center for Children will seek to enhance clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by increasing access to the most effective, evidence-based mental health services and transform the training, practice, and expertise of the children's mental health workforce in Minnesota. Through the institute, Washburn hopes to create a replicable national model for integrating children's evidence-based mental health practices with training, practice, and evaluation to enhance the mental healthcare experiences of children across the country.

The grant also will support the development of curriculum and programming for the Washburn Trained Certification Program, while a team at OptumInsight, a UnitedHealth Group company, will provide pro bono consulting services to enhance Washburn's outcomes analysis and reporting capacity.

"We see a great urgency in meeting this critical community need — one out of five Minnesota children experiences mental health obstacles, yet only 20 percent get the help they need," said Washburn Center executive director Steve Lepinski. "We're thrilled to receive this gift from United Health Foundation as we help children grow, thrive, and achieve success at home, in school, and life."