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

March 16, 2021 Issue of DPSAC News

In this issue:

Federal Pre-Screening vs. Contract Company Pre-Screening Methods
NED Guidance on Non-FTE to FTE Reclassification Guidance
FAQs - What Information is Stored on My PIV Card?
Badge Processing Times
Helpful Tips: Avoiding Additional Delays in Processing New Hires
AOs Who Wish to Obtain Sponsor Authority

Federal Pre-Screening Process vs. Contract Company Pre-Screening Methods

Individuals who wish to join the NIH workforce must complete the federal pre-screening process. This includes fingerprints, resume review, criminal history review, collection and review of Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) document, and potentially submission of a new background investigation.

Individuals who require a new background investigation must also submit their electronic Questionnaire for Investigative Processing (e-QIP) before they can be authorized access to NIH facilities, information systems, or be issued an HHS Personal Identity Verification (PIV) badge or Restricted Local Access (RLA) badge. Finally, DPSAC conducts a pre-screening determination once all of the above information has been collected and reviewed by Personnel Security Specialists at DPSAC.

These requirements apply to all prospective federal employees and federal contractors entering the NIH workforce.

Contract Company “Pre-screening” is Not a Substitute for the Federal Pre-screening Process

Contract company administered vetting processes do not substitute the Federal Government pre-screening requirement implemented at DPSAC. Favorable vetting conducted by a contract company improves the likelihood but does not guarantee that the individual will be found eligible for a badge or suitable for employment once the individual goes through the federal pre-screening process. DPSAC advises contracting companies to ensure individuals complete federal pre-screening in advance of their entry-on-duty date (EOD) to avoid delays in badge processing.

If a prospective federal contractor is not able to complete pre-screening prior to their arrival at NIH, they must complete this requirement once they arrive onsite. The prospective contractor will not be issued a PIV/RLA badge until he or she has successfully passed the DPSAC pre-screening process.

NED Guidance on Non-FTE to FTE Reclassification Guidance

When a contractor, fellow or other Non-FTE member of the NIH workforce accepts an FTE position, his/her NED record must be updated to show the FTE status. This allows DPSAC to initiate the necessary pre-screening process for the individual's new position. When accessing NED to make this update, the NED Team wants to provide the following information for the AO community.

Reclassifying a Non-FTE (except Fellow) to FTE

Update the person’s classification from non-NIH FTE to NIH FTE using the Update function in

NED. This step will notify DPSAC of the change, so they can initiate a background investigation

for the NIH FTE position if needed. Please do not modify the person’s entry-on-duty (EOD) date during the reclassification process as NED will revoke the person’s current badge.

Reclassifying a Fellow to FTE

When changing a fellow’s classification from Fellow to NIH FTE, the Fellowship Payment System

(FPS) will prevent the Fellow’s IC from creating, renewing, transferring, or activating any type of

award, as the person is no longer identified as a Fellow. However, the person will continue to

receive all their stipend payments for any awards activated prior to the change in classification.

ICs are encouraged to create and approve award renewals to extend a Fellow’s duration prior to

changing the individual’s classification in NED. If the renewal is not needed, it can then be

cancelled. Awards of any type will not activate automatically; nor can they be activated manually

after the classification has changed.

If the classification has been changed to NIH FTE in NED, the IC needs to enter an NBS FPS help

desk ticket to create, extend, or activate an award in FPS. The IC must include the Fellow’s name

and HHS ID, award number, and details regarding the required actions. The NBS FPS team will

coordinate with the IC and the NIH Office of Financial Management (OFM) to manually process the action. Please enter “Assistance with

Fellow to FTE” in the short description of the ticket and include instructions to triage to the NBS

FPS team directly.

For questions or assistance, please contact:

NED Team at nedteam@mail.nih.gov for questions about updating information in NED
DPSAC Team at orspersonnelsecurity@mail.nih.gov for questions about background investigations
FPS Team for questions about FPS, by opening a help desk ticket for NBS FPS team

Q. What information is contained on the PIV Card?

A. PIV cards contain the necessary data for the cardholder to be granted access to federal facilities and information systems and assure appropriate levels of security for all federal applications.

The information on your ID badge will include:

Your photograph
Your full legal name (middle initial only)
Your Operating Division or OPDIV (NIH)
Badge expiration date
Badge serial number
Federal agency smart card credential number (which uniquely identifies your OPDIV and you)
An authentication key
Two electronic fingerprints

The following information will not be on your ID badge:

Your Social Security Number
Your address (work or home)

Badge Processing Times

For the NOV/DEC/JAN time frame, the average processing time for issuing an ID badge is 21.1 calendar days.

Avoiding Additional

Delays in Processing

New Hires

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 email 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.

Are there topics you would like to read more about in future issues of DPSAC News?

Please send your suggestions to: Daniel.Shumate@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.

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

Office of Management

Office of Research Services

Division of Personnel Security and Access Control