The department shall establish and maintain local transition committees to address the transition needs of children receiving child welfare services who are age sixteen or older and have a case permanency plan as defined in section 232.2. The department shall adopt rules establishing criteria for transition committee membership, operating policies, and basic functions. The rules shall provide flexibility for a committee to adopt protocols and other procedures appropriate for the geographic area addressed by the committee.

 The department may authorize the governance boards of decategorization of child welfare and juvenile justice funding projects established under section 232.188 to appoint the transition committee membership and may utilize the boundaries of decategorization projects to establish the service areas for transition committees. The committee membership may include but is not limited to department staff involved with foster care, child welfare, and adult services, juvenile court services staff, staff involved with county general assistance or emergency relief under chapter 251 or 252, or a regional administrator of the county mental health and disability services region, as defined in section 225C.55, in the area, school district and area education agency staff involved with special education, and a child’s court appointed special advocate, guardian ad litem, service providers, and other persons knowledgeable about the child.

 A transition committee shall review and approve the written plan of services required for the child’s case permanency plan in accordance with section 232.2, subsection 4, paragraph “g”, which, based upon an assessment of the child’s needs, would assist the child in preparing for the transition from foster care to adulthood. In addition, a transition committee shall identify and act to address any gaps existing in the services or other support available to meet the child and adult needs of individuals for whom service plans are approved.