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Pending Changes to Federal Personnel Security Policy
- October 17, 2013
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
No CommentsFour significant pending changes to federal personnel security policy were mentioned in the published minutes of the March 2013 NISPPAC meeting. These changes were reported by Charles Sowell, the former Deputy Assistant Director for Special Security at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI):
- Revised Federal Investigative Standards
- Revised Adjudicative Guidelines
- New National Reporting Requirements
- New Polygraph Policy
Revised Federal Investigative Standards (FIS)
Although the revised FIS was mentioned by Sowell, nothing was actually reported in the published minutes of the NISPPAC meeting regarding it… -
Changes to the Security Clearance Mental Health Question
- October 15, 2013
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
Over the past few decades the mental health question on the most commonly used national security clearance application form has become increasingly complex as the form itself has grown incredibly long and detailed.
The 1964 version of DOD Form 398 (DD398), “Statement of Personal History,” was only 4 pages long and contained no question regarding mental health or mental health treatment.
In 1981 the DD398 was renamed the “Personnel Security Questionnaire,” was reduced from 4 pages to 3 pages, and the following mental health question was added:
Have you ever been a patient (whether or not formally committed) in any institution primarily devoted to the treatment of mental, emotional, psychological, or personality disorders?
In 1990 the DD398 went back to being 4 pages, and the mental health question was revised to read…
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2012 Security Clearance Year in Review
- March 3, 2013
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
During 2012 the Government continued to take small steps toward fulfilling the goals of the Joint Security Suitability Reform effort that began in 2007. However, some anticipated changes failed to occur. No action was taken to implement changes to Periodic Reinvestigation intervals for Confidential and Secret clearances as announced in late 2011. The multi-volume DOD Manual 5200.02 that will replace the decades old DOD Regulation 5200.2, “Personnel Security Program” was not finalized. A revision to the December 2005 Adjudicative Guidelines was not approved. Reciprocal acceptance of security clearances between Intelligence Community agencies remained a significant problem…
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NISPPAC November 2012 Meeting Report
- March 3, 2013
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
In mid-February 2013, the report of the National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee’s (NISPPAC) November 2012 meeting was posted at the Information Security Oversight Office’s (ISOO) website. Some highlights from the meeting include:
The Defense Security Service (DSS) reported that some intelligence community (IC) members are now using the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) for submitting their Periodic Reinvestigations, which is a departure from past procedures…
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Maryland Security Clearance Tax Credit
- June 27, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
In January 2012 a bill was introduced in the Maryland State Senate that proposed a State income tax credit for costs incurred to obtain federal security clearances. The first reading of the bill (SB296) proposed a requirement for “the Governor of Maryland to make a $6,000,000 appropriation in FY2014 and FY21015 for the tax credit, applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011.” The bill was unclear as to what costs would qualify for the tax credit and who could claim it. Basically it just appropriated money for the tax credit…
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Self-Reporting Issues Affecting Security Clearance Eligibility
- June 5, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Special Issues
Federal agencies require individuals with security clearances to promptly report a wide range of security and suitability issues to their security officers. These requirements vary somewhat from agency to agency, but many follow the reporting requirements listed in DoD Regulation 5200.2-R, “Department of Defense Personnel Security Program.” The term, “self-reporting,” only applies to: 1) individuals with active security clearances and 2) applicants for security clearances who have already submitted a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF86) and are waiting on a clearance determination. Self-reporting is different from the requirement to disclose unfavorable information on an SF86 when applying for a security clearance…
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4th Quarter FY2010 Security Clearance Processing Times
- June 3, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
In February 2011 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) made its final report on security clearance processing in compliance with Title III of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA). Under section 367 of the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, beginning this year and annually thereafter, ODNI is required to submit a new more comprehensive report on security clearances to Congress…
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Security Clearance: Loss of Jurisdiction
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Special Issues
Few things cause more frustration than being rejected by a prospective employer because of a “Loss of Jurisdiction” and an “Incident Report.”
When you’re terminated from a job where you held a Department of Defense (DoD) security clearance, your former employer “separates” you in the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS—the DoD security clearance database). If you were terminated from your job for cause, the employer often concurrently submits an Incident Report via JPAS describing the reason for termination. This occurs when the termination is related to one of the thirteen Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information…
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Interim Versus Final Clearances
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
Interim federal suitability, fitness, credentialing,1 and security clearance determinations are based on the completion of partial investigative requirements and are granted on a temporary basis, pending completion of the full investigative requirements and a final eligibility determination.
For many applicants interim clearances are critical. Most interim clearances can be granted in a few days, but final clearances can take months. Not all federal agencies consider interim clearances for all positions, but interim clearances have become widely used because of the excessive length of time it took to complete clearance investigations in the recent past. Many employers need to fill vacant positions quickly and cannot wait for applicants to receive final clearances…
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Clearance Application Rejection Rates
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Special Issues
All security clearance requests sent from the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for investigation are submitted using the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP). OPM’s e-QIP has error catching and data validation features, but these features are unable to prevent many types of errors and omissions. DISCO and OPM only reject clearance requests with obvious and serious errors. From October 2007 to January 2011 the average combined rejection rate was 12.3%. Those requests that pass DISCO and OPM review are still often rife with other errors and omissions. Applicants and their Facility Security Officers (FSO) are primarily responsible for this problem…