Iowa is making some gains in reducing the percentage of “disconnected” youths in the state, and a new initiative is seeking to increase the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are on the right track toward career and life success.

According to Opportunity Nation, Iowa ranks 10th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2014 Opportunity Index, an annual measure of access to economic, educational and civic opportunity. Of particular note, the rate of disconnected youths ages 16 to 24 declined in Iowa between 2013 and 2014, from 9.5 percent to 8.9 percent, well under the national average of more than 14 percent.

The coalition announced Monday the launch of Opportunity Compass, an online resource tool designed to help young adults explore opportunities in Central Iowa.

The tool is designed to link teens and young adults to opportunities in areas such as education, employment resources and support and volunteer services, said Mary Chapman, emeritus vice president with Des Moines Area Community College. “It’s a navigation tool directing these young adults to the resources in the community that can support them as they chart out their career pathway,” she said.

In addition to DMACC, other founding sponsors of Opportunity Iowa since its creation in 2011 include the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, United Way of Central Iowa, Character Counts In Iowa, Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates and AARP Iowa.

Since the first Opportunity Index was released in 2011, Iowa has experienced positive growth on several key indicators of upward mobility for residents, including increased Internet access, high school graduation rate, the percentage of adults with at least an associate degree and the number of medical doctors. Iowa also experienced a decrease in its unemployment rate and its rate of violent crime over the past four years.