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The Real Cost of Security Clearances
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
No CommentsThere’s a general misconception that federal security clearance investigations cost thousands and thousands of dollars and that federal contractors must pay for these investigations. Some reputable websites perpetuate this myth with statements like:
“The average cost to process a TOP SECRET clearance is between $3,000 and about $15,000, depending upon individual factors. . . . The law requires that contractors pay most of the costs of obtaining clearances for their employees.” 1…
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Security Clearance: The Whole-Person Concept
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Clearance Procedures
Among people who have been involved with national security clearances the “whole-person” concept has become widely known and often misunderstood.1 Applicants for security clearance are evaluated on potentially disqualifying and mitigating conditions listed under 13 separate guidelines in the “Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information.” The Adjudicative Guidelines additionally admonished adjudicators that:
The adjudicative process is an examination of a sufficient period of a person’s life to make an affirmative determination that the person is an acceptable security risk…. The adjudication process is the careful weighing of a number of variables known as the whole-person concept. Available, reliable information about the person, past and present, favorable and unfavorable, should be considered in reaching a determination. In evaluating the relevance of an individual’s conduct, the adjudicator should consider the following factors: (emphasis added)
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Employment Suitability Versus Security Clearance
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
When you accept a federal job offer that requires a security clearance, you will be required to submit a “Questionnaire for National Security Positions,” also known as a Standard Form 86 (SF86). Although the paper version of the SF86 is still in use, most applicants will use the electronic web-based version of the SF86 called e-QIP (Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing)…
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Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
HSPD-12, “Policies for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,” was signed in August 2004 and is one of three major federal personnel security programs. The other two programs encompass national security clearances and federal employment suitability/fitness. For most federal employees and many contractor employees HSPD-12 requirements and processing are nearly invisible, because the issuance of an HSPD-12 compliant Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card occurs almost automatically when there is a favorable security clearance or employment suitability/fitness determination. It was estimated that HSPD-12 compliant cards would have to be issued to 4.3 million federal employees and 1.2 million contractors. According to OMB as of March 2010 only 64% of PIV cards have been issued…
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Defense Office of Hearings And Appeals
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
Until recently I worked at the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) where I adjudicated background investigations on defense contractors who had applied for security clearances. Defense contractor cases are usually handled by the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO), but when DISCO is unable to grant a clearance due to the complexity of the case, the entire file is sent to DOHA…
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What Is My Chance of Getting a Security Clearance?
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Improving Your Chance of Success
The Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) processes the vast majority of security clearances for federal contractor personnel. Administratively the adjudicative process at DISCO is slightly different from other federal adjudicative facilities, but case outcomes are statistically similar at all facilities.
DISCO receives completed security clearance investigations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). DISCO reviews the investigations, but they can only grant security clearances; they are not authorized to deny or revoke security clearances. If derogatory information in a case reaches a certain threshold, it must be referred from DISCO to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) for adjudication…
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Rebutting And Appealing Security Clearance Denials
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Clearance Procedures
The Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) is a Central Adjudication Facility (CAF) that is part of the Defense Security Service. DISCO processes about 150,000 personnel security clearances each year for DoD contractors and contractors of 23 other federal agencies. These are referred to as industrial cases. DISCO favorably adjudicates about 75% of these cases after the investigations are conducted by the Office of Personnel Management. If DISCO cannot affirmatively find that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue a personnel security clearance, the case is referred to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) for further review…
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BRAC And Security Clearance Processing
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
Under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, 10 Department of Defense (DOD) Central Adjudication Facilities (CAF) will move from their current locations to a newly constructed building at Fort Meade, MD by September 15, 2011. To varying degrees BRAC will cause most of the CAFs to experience higher than normal personnel attrition rates this year. This could in turn increase the average amount of time it takes to adjudicate a security clearance. The 10 DOD CAFs are…
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2011 Security Clearance Year in Review
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: News & Updates
January
OPM announced the roll-out of the New SF86 — The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that in February they will begin a phased implementation of the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) version of the new Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86—SF86) that was approved by the Office of Management and Budget in March 2010. The last version (July 2008) of the SF86 was phased in over a period of about 5 months from September 2008 to January 2009. DOD contractor personnel were among the last to begin using the form…
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Understanding Federal Personnel Security Programs
- May 30, 2012
- Posted by: William Henderson
- Category: Policy & Standards
People often use the generic term, “security clearance,” when referring to any government determination regarding an individual’s eligibility for access to protected information, facilities, or computer systems, as well as federal employment suitability or fitness. There are 3 major federal personnel security programs and each has its own terminology. All 3 programs have provisions for an interim eligibility authorization pending the completion of a background investigation and a final eligibility determination. All 3 programs require:
- sponsorship by a federal agency or federal contractor,
- submission of application forms and fingerprints,
- investigation of the applicant’s background, and
- favorable adjudication of the investigation.
The government is in the process of aligning these 3 programs under a single unified structure (see Executive Order 13467), but each program currently has its own standards and processes that are largely separate and distinct from each other…