(1) The department's index of significant decisions, prepared under RCW 42.56.070(5), contains BOA orders that include an analysis or decision of substantial importance to the department in carrying out its duties.

(2) A final order may be relied upon, used or cited as precedent by a party if the final order has been indexed in the department's index of significant decisions.

(3) The department selects the orders to be included in its "index of significant decisions" based on recommendations from staff and the public. Generally, a decision or order is considered "significant" only if it provides a legal analysis or interpretation not found in existing case law, or applies settled law to unusual facts. The index of significant decisions will include orders meeting the criteria in subsections (1) and (3) of this section, issued by the department.

(4) The index will, at a minimum, contain the case or document number; type of document; name of parties, if applicable, unless such names are exempt from public disclosure; brief description of subject and program; and pertinent legal citation.

(5) Any person may nominate a BOA order to be evaluated for indexing by submitting the request, reason why the person believes an order should be indexed, and a copy of the nominated order to the Board of Appeals, P.O. Box 40982, Olympia, WA 98504. The department will make a final decision as to whether to index the nominated order, and that decision is not appealable.

(6) The department will periodically update and review the index to verify that the indexed documents continue to meet the criteria in subsections (1) and (3) of this section. The department may, at any time, delete a document from an index. Under RCW 42.56.070(6), a public record may not be cited in a proceeding if it has not been indexed.

(7) The index is a public record and is available for public inspection at https://dcyf.wa.gov/board-of-appeals. The index of significant decisions is located at the Board of Appeals, 1310 Jefferson St. S.E., Olympia, WA 98501.