DPSAC News
A bi-weekly newsletter from the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control
Providing timely information to help keep NIH safe and secure

August 14, 2019 Issue of DPSAC News
 In this issue:
  • The Current Status of DPSAC Processing Delays
  • Special Handling Required to Process NIH Staff Converting from Non-FTE to FTE Status
  • Pricing for FY'19 and FY'20 Background Investigations Published by OPM/NBIB
  • FAQs: Determining the Appropriate Background Investigation and Tier Level for Special Government Employees (SGE)
  • Helpful Tips -- Avoiding Additional Delays Processing New Hires

Current Status of DPSAC Processing Delays
The NIH Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) continues to experience increased volume and processing delays for badging and background investigation services, including initial badge requests , badge renewals , prescreening , and background investigation requests.
 
Keep in mind that while DPSAC works diligently to process requests, DPSAC services the entire NIH community across all 27 Institutes and Centers. Please be patient and if possible, avoid overlapping status requests and inquires as DPSAC receives approximately 1,500 new cases every month and anywhere from 300 to 700 phone and email inquiries each day. 
 
Average DPSAC processing time from AO Sponsorship to Badge Authorization for the week of August 5, 2019*:

59 calendar days
 
What is DPSAC doing to work towards resolving these delays?
 
  • Prioritizing and actioning badge, prescreening and background investigation requests according to employee classification and status (e.g. VIP, clinical fellow, etc.) and new-hire employee Enter on Duty (EOD) date

  • Working on internal system enhancements to increase efficiency of DPSAC processes

  • Working to increase internal DPSAC staffing to accommodate for increased workload volume

  • Working with the NED team to develop coordinated system enhancements that benefit the community (for example, to have NED display more accurate badge statuses, as well as to more effectively prescreen classification changes)

What can the community do to expedite the process and avoid delays?
 
  • For new federal candidates, coordinate with the Office of Human Resources to ensure the individual completes and submits the ***OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment*** into USA Staffing Onboarding Manager prior to being sponsored for a PIV/RLA badge in NED. Applicants must read each question carefully and provide any additional required information for any “yes” answers.
 
  • Ensure the Position Description and Position Sensitivity Level for the individual are accurate. Failure to do so may put the NIH community at risk. Please note: It is wrongful for sponsors to misrepresent an individual’s Position Sensitivity Level or Background Investigation Requirement to circumvent the process in an attempt to avoid delays. Violators will have their sponsorship privileges revoked**.
 
  • Ensure candidates are registered and sponsored into NED as early as possible but no later than 8 weeks prior to their Enter on Duty (EOD) date.
 
  • For foreign nationals, DPSAC processing does not start until the AO sponsors the badge request in NED and the NIH Division of International Services (DIS) validates the individual's legal/work status. DIS validation may result in additional processing time before DPSAC can start processing these individuals. 
 
  • Ensure that the candidate’s email address in the NED system is correct and is used by the candidate to receive important correspondence. EMAIL IS THE PRIMARY METHOD DPSAC USES TO COMMUNICATE REQUIREMENTS TO NEW CANDIDATES. 
 
  • AOs and Supervisors should advise the candidate of the criticality of completing DPSAC requests in a timely manner and assist them in understanding DPSAC’s processes (please click here for an overview of the DPSAC Process).
 
  • Work with DPSAC to ensure candidates respond in a timely manner to DPSAC inquiries
 
 
  • Instruct candidates to READ INSTRUCTIONS from DPSAC carefully to avoid delays - particularly the Prescreening & e-QIP instructions - as this is where DPSAC sees most delays

Processing times are often delayed due to reasons outside of DPSAC control, which include, but are not limited to:
 
  • Incomplete or not-submitted OF-306; applicants' delayed submission of initial e-QIP or corrected e-QIP
 
  • Candidate response time, incomplete entries, not reading instructions carefully, and issues requiring clarification by the candidate

  • Incorrect email address in NED
 
  • ***NED Data Entry Discrepancies*** (i.e. incorrect Personal Identifiers, Citizenship or Legal Work Status information). For example, selecting that the individual is a “Lawful Permanent Resident LPR” in NED when the individual is not an LPR.
 
  • Unnecessary Position Sensitivity Level upgrades/downgrades: Position Sensitivity Level Upgrades/Downgrades are only authorized if there is an actual change in the individual’s position and must be accompanied by a justification.*
 
  • System dependencies: DPSAC relies on successful operational status of several systems in order to process requests on time (i.e. OPM, FBI, HHS and NIH systems)
 
  • Badge renewals: every five years, DPSAC experiences a large influx in processing requests due to the badge renewal cycle.

Please click here for an overview of the DPSAC Process.
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* In the near future, DPSAC will require that all changes to positions be processed through the National Background Investigation System (NBIS) Position Designation Tool to accurately calculate the appropriate Position Sensitivity and Risk designation and associated background investigation tier required for that position.

** Entering long-term employees (greater than 6 months) for a duration of “less than 6 months” in an attempt to circumvent the background investigation process is wrongful and poses a threat to the NIH workforce.

Misrepresenting an individual’s background investigation tier in order to expedite the process wastes critical DPSAC resources and government funding, and only causes additional delays. For example, entering an individual for a short term (less than 6 months) position and then upgrading the PSL to the correct level once the badge is issued. 

Special Handling Required to Process NIH Staff Converting from Non-FTE to FTE Status

 *** Special Note*** This article does not apply to Fellows converting to FTE. This topic will be covered in a future DPSAC News article .

DPSAC is required to complete prescreening for non-FTE NIH staff (e.g., contractors)
who are converting to federal employee (FTE) status. Prescreening requires DPSAC to collect fingerprints, the OF-306 form submitted to the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and a copy of the individual’s resume. With this information, DPSAC can complete the prescreening process which then allows OHR to send the person a final offer letter.

For individuals who are both 1) converting from non-FTE status to FTE status, and 2) changing ICs, the Administrative Officers (AOs) in both ICs must follow the process outlined below to ensure that the individual can transfer successfully from one IC to another while becoming a federal employee. If this process is not followed, the individual can lose both physical access to NIH facilities and network access to IT systems.

Step 1 – 'Update' Task in NED : The current IC must update the individual’s NED record to change the classification to FTE. This will send a signal to DPSAC that the individual must be prescreened.

  • The Position Information section of the person’s NED record should be updated to show the position the person will be occupying in the new IC. This will ensure DPSAC is conducting the correct background investigation (if one is required). 

  • The NED record should not be transferred to the new IC at this time. Doing so will revoke any IT system access the person has in their current IC. 

  • The Enter on Duty (EOD) date should not be changed. Changing the EOD date will revoke the individual’s current ID badge. 
 
Step 2 – Prescreening : DPSAC will contact the individual to collect the necessary 
information (fingerprints, resume, etc.). Once all the information is provided to 
DPSAC, they will review it and send a ‘prescreening complete’ notification to OHR. 

  • Since this process is not tracked via NED, the 'View Badge Status' feature in NED will only reflect a message of “Waiting for DPSAC to determine investigation requirements.” 

  • If DSPAC determines a new background investigation is required, they will notify the individual to complete the required forms.
 
Step 3 – Final Offer Letter: Upon receipt of the ‘prescreening complete’ 
notification from DPSAC, OHR will send the individual a final offer letter and 
schedule an EOD date. 
 
Step 4 – 'Transfer' Task in NED : Once the EOD date is established, the NED record can be scheduled for transfer effective on the EOD date. This task can be initiated in NED by either the current or new IC (via a 'push' or 'pull' transfer respectively).

  • The record should not be transferred prior to the EOD date as this will revoke network access to the current ICs IT systems.

  • The new IC will need to complete an ‘Update’ task in NED as part of the transfer process to ensure that the new information is recorded (e.g., SAC, Supervisor, Servicing AO, etc.). 

Please note: DPSAC is working with the NED Team to identify a long-term solution that will help streamline this process to make it less cumbersome. There is no current time frame for implementing this long-term solution, but DPSAC will be sure to keep the AO community updated.  
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FY'19 & FY'20 Pricing & Customer-Agency Budget Guidance for
OPM Background Investigations
(see also FY 2020 OPM Pricing Schedule below)

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the National Background Investigations Bureau have announced that FY2019 pricing is based on published Federal Investigation Notice No. 17-04, FY 2018 Investigations Reimbursable Billing Rates Effective October 1, 2017 .

The FY2019 Prices table below shows the standard rates for the level of investigation required..  
Determining the Appropriate
ID Badge for a Special Government Employee (SGE)
Q  . I’ve been told that a Special Government Employee (SGE) may be eligible for an NIH Legacy badge or a Restricted Local Access (RLA) badge. Can you explain under what circumstances the SGE will be issued one of these badges?  
 
A.  You are correct that both options are possible. In the majority of cases, in which the SGE requires only an ID badge and physical access (but not NIH network and e-mail access), the AO enters the SGE into NED and requests an ID badge. An NCIC case is created in BITS and processed by the NIH   Police. The SGE only needs to go to the NIH Police to pick up his/her NIH Legacy badge.
 
SGEs who require both an ID badge and NIH network access/e-mail will undergo a SAC check and be issued an RLA badge. In this instance, the AO enters the individual into NED and requests an ID Badge  and  NIH network access/e-mail. A case is created in BITS and processed by DPSAC.

To complete the process, the SGE will need to come to DPSAC twice: the first appointment will be for enrollment, and the second will be for RLA badge issuance.
Avoiding Additional Delays in Processing New Hires
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Processing times are often delayed due to reasons outside of DPSAC control, which include, but are not limited to:
  • Incomplete or not submitted OF-306
  • Candidate response time
  • Issues requiring clarification by the candidate
  • Untimely submission of initial e-QIP or corrected e-QIP
How the AO and HR communities can assist:
  • By ensuring all required documents have been uploaded into HR's 'Onboarding Manager' prior to establishing a NED account
  • By entering candidates as early as possible but no later than 8 weeks prior to their Entry on Duty (EOD) date
  • By working with DPSAC to ensure candidates respond in a timely manner to inquiries. 

ALT cards -- should be returned to the  IC ALT card coordinator - NOT to DPSAC.
 Administrative Officers (AOs) who wish to obtain sponsor authority must complete the sponsor training. To access the training module, click on: Sponsor .

Upon completion, the AO should sign and e-mail a copy of the certificate found at the end of the training module to Alex Salah at: salaha@ors.od.nih.gov . Upon receipt of the certificate, Mr. Salah will authorize the AO as a Sponsor. 

Note: ONLY individuals with an Administrative Officer role in NED are eligible to be HHS ID Badge/PIV Card Sponsors.  
Return Your Badge When Leaving NIH
If you plan to leave the employ of NIH, whether you’re an employee, contractor or affiliate, you will need to turn in your PIV or RLA badge to your Administrative Officer (AO) so that s/he can deactivate your badge in NED.

The AO will turn over the deactivated badge to the badging office.
Are there topics you would like to read more about in future issues of DPSAC News? Please send your suggestions to: Lanny.Newman@nih.gov . Your input is greatly appreciated.
A biweekly e-newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep its readers informed of personnel security and access control policies and practices designed to safeguard the NIH and its workforce. DPSAC is responsible for verifying personal identity, validating suitability, reviewing background checks, authorizing facility access and issuing ID badges for NIH personnel. 

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