OPM unveils technology to speed security clearance processing

Completed background investigations for security clearances will be sent via electronic transfer under a pilot project initiated by the Office of Personnel Management.

Under the pilot, OPM, which conducts 95 percent of background investigations, will electronically deliver the results of such reviews to the Army Central Personnel Security Clearance Facility for adjudication of the applications under its jurisdiction. If the test is successful, OPM expects to extend electronic transfer to all agencies by Oct. 1.

The use of technology has been cited as critical to reducing the time necessary to transfer documents across agencies. Currently, most background investigation results are delivered through the mail or other hand-delivery methods. Electronic transfer will reduce delivery time by seven to 13 days and will provide savings on postage and personnel, according to OPM.

"OPM has worked diligently over the past two years to increase the speed with which federal employees receive their security clearance," said OPM Director Linda Springer. "Through electronic transfer, agencies will have instant access to completed background investigations, ensuring more timely and efficient adjudication of clearance cases."

The program will enable the Army's clearance facility to process adjudication cases electronically through the Clearance Adjudication Tracking System. That system can manage cases more efficiently, in part by automatically prioritizing them based on OPM codes. The system helps eliminate staff costs associated with the current paper-based environment, OPM said.

Under a 2004 anti-terrorism law, agencies are required to ensure by 2009 that 90 percent of applications get adjudicated within 60 days of the date investigators receive the forms. Within that time, the investigations phase could take 40 days at most, and the process of deciding whether to accept or reject the application could take a maximum of 20 days, according to the law.

A February report by the Office of Management and Budget found that agencies are making significant progress in speeding security clearance processing, with 80 percent of initial investigations and adjudications completed within 118 days. However, the report did not include a measure of the amount of time it takes OPM to hand off or mail applications to agencies.

"OPM is looking at one small segment of the clearance process that can be more easily fixed," said Evan Lesser, director of ClearanceJobs.com, which matches clearance-holding job seekers with top hiring companies. "The government is saying that things are improving, but we are not seeing it trickle down yet."

Lesser pointed to a request-for-information posted last week on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, in which the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Department and OMB sought input from vendors on potential ways to reduce clearance delays.

"This is probably the most remarkable thing to come about with the security clearance backlog in years," Lesser said.

According to the information request, the agencies are seeking a defined industry solution on how to speed clearance processing in compliance with the law. The agencies are hoping to have the new system in place by Dec. 31, 2008, the request stated.

"It's interesting that OPM is talking about one [technological] area and, at the same time, a more broad group of agencies is looking at what is very much a solution to the problem," Lesser said.