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Merton MillerAssociate Director, Federal Investigative ServicesOffice of Personnel Management (OPM), Federal Investigative Services
FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
PG2 Improve the Oversight and Quality of Background Investigation Processing
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
Beginning in FY 2013, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) further challenged the background investigations process by revising the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act timeliness metrics to establish a separate standard for Top Secret investigations. As a result, the DNI shifted greater management focus on the manpower intensive workload, necessitating the creation of revised workload management tools and rules to measure and manage workload by case type.
While OPM has made significant progress on timeliness since 2004, the agency has maintained its primary focus on delivering top quality products to agencies. OPM will work with its executive branch reform partners to develop and implement Executive Branch quality standards, with a measurement tool designed for universal application during both the investigative and adjudicative processes. OPM will focus on implementing these additional initiatives while maintaining timeliness objectives. OPM will satisfy all national security standards, deliver quality products, and achieve Congressional and DNI mandated timeliness goals.
OPM is sensitive to the fiscal environment and the need for customer agencies (i.e., the employing or sponsoring agencies) to have more insight into the costs of background investigations. To this end, OPM will continue conducting business efficiency studies and maturing its cost allocation model to provide more detailed cost data and to optimize the value of OPM’s investigative products to agency adjudicators, which in turn translates into better value to taxpayers.
Strategies
The goal of improving the quality while maintaining the timeliness of background investigations supports OPM’s Strategic Goal “Enhanced Federal Workforce Integrity” and supports the specific strategy to enhance policy, procedures and processes used to ensure people are fit to serve. OPM conducts high-quality, timely background investigations used to determine an individual’s suitability for Federal employment. Completed background investigations are also used by Federal agencies to determine an individual’s eligibility for access to classified national security information. Investigations can also be used to determine whether to credential a particular individual to work in a Federally-controlled facility or have access to Federal information systems. Military services use investigations to determine whether to enlist an individual into the armed services.
In striving to help agencies recruit and hire the most talented and diverse Federal workforce possible to serve the American people, OPM attempts to ensure agencies have sufficient and timely information to make decisions such as credentialing, suitability, and/or security clearance determinations by:
- Achieving a quality standard in investigations that meets Federal Investigative Standards; and
- Achieving timeliness goals for Top Secret and Secret clearance investigations.
OPM employs quality assessment tools in our quality review processes to ensure that our background investigations meet investigation standards. In addition, OPM is engaged in an interagency Quality Assessment Working Group that we co-chair with the DOD and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The working group brings together over 20 Federal agencies involved in investigations and adjudications to work to ensure consistency of background investigations across the Federal Government and to standardize the evaluation of quality within the Federal Government.
The priority goal of investigative timeliness is a legal mandate that OPM has effectively and consistently met over the last several years. Optimal investigative performance is dependent on a proper balance of quality and cost with timeliness. OPM’s goal is to meet the timeliness standards for national security investigations while continuing to emphasize delivering and even further improving on our high-quality products. These strategies and milestones were established understanding that effective support of reciprocity policies which permit agencies to quickly accept the investigative and adjudicative work of other agencies will provide the best value to the American taxpayer.
Progress Update
In FY 2015, OPM achieved its quality target, with 99.95 percent of investigations determined to be quality complete. OPM did not meet its timeliness goals, however, due to contract decisions the agency made in the fourth quarter of FY 2014. OPM completed the fastest 90 percent of all initial national security investigations in 67 days, on average, over its target of 40 days, and 32 days longer than in FY 2014. The average number of days for OPM to complete the fastest 90 percent of initial Secret national security investigations increased to 58 days during FY 2015, from an average of 30 days in FY 2014. OPM completed the fastest 90 percent of initial Top Secret national security investigations in an average of 147 days, from an average of 75 days in FY 2014.
- In February 2014, OPM began performing final quality reviews of all investigations products by Federal Investigative Services (FIS) Federal staff.
- In September 2014, OPM announced it would not extend the terms of its contracts with one of the FIS contractors. FIS continued normal operations by assigning cases in process to the Federal staff and signed a letter contract with another contractor to take on the support services contract, which was effective October 1, 2014. Because of the reduction in investigative resources, the time to complete initial national security investigations increased in fiscal year 2015. To counter the loss of one of the FIS contractors, FIS and its two fieldwork contractors increased their field staff. Actions taken to expand investigative capacity are within budget constraints, while maintaining the current high quality of OPM’s investigations. Until these initiatives are in place, OPM expects that investigation timeliness will continue to degrade and inventory will continue to increase through fiscal year 2016. OPM will continue to re-evaluate its workload, case inventory, and available investigative resources to determine if additional measures are needed to meet timeliness goals and the needs of its customer agencies.
- OPM worked with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Defense (DOD) and intelligence agencies to conduct a 120-day review of suitability and security clearance procedures for Federal employees and contractors. The President approved the recommendations on March 6, 2014.
- OPM officials met with OMB and interagency partners to address how to respond to seven legislative proposals related to suitability and security clearance reform introduced in the 113th Congress in order to enhance the accomplishment of the 120-day review recommendations.
- In the first quarter of FY 2015, OPM implemented the Tiers 1 and 2 investigation products. The new products are based on the 2012 Federal Investigative Standards.
- OPM and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published the final rule for Part 1400 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, Designation of National Security Positions in the Competitive Service, and Related Matters. This is one of the initiatives OPM and ODNI have undertaken to simplify and streamline the Federal investigative and adjudicate processes to make them more efficient and equitable. Part 1400 clarifies the requirements and procedures agencies should use when designating national security positions.
OPM will continue to focus on improving background investigations case processing timeliness and quality, and has set a new investigations case processing Agency Priority Goal for 2016-2017.
Next Steps
No Data Available
Expand All
Performance Indicators
Average number of days to complete the fastest 90 percent of all initial national security investigations
Percent of investigations determined to be quality complete
Average number of days to complete the fastest 90 percent of initial Top Secret national security investigations
Average number of days to complete the fastest 90 percent of initial Secret national security investigations
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
In accordance with Executive Order 13467, the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) serves as the Chair of the Performance Accountability Council (PAC). The PAC was established to “ensure an efficient, practical, reciprocal, and aligned system for investigating and determining suitability for Government employment, contractor employee fitness, and eligibility for access to classified information” exists.
Under this strategic framework, the Director of OPM is the Suitability Executive Agent, and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the Security Executive Agent. In this capacity as Security Executive Agent, the ODNI has provided the Executive Branch with timeliness standards for security clearance investigation performance and is developing continuous evaluation capability for certain individuals after receiving an initial clearance.
In addition, OPM’s Federal Investigative Services (FIS) is primarily responsible for this goal and is supported in this effort by the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Office of General Council (OGC), Planning & Policy Analysis (PPA), and Employment Services (ES).
Strategic Objectives
Strategic Objective:
SG08.01 Enhance policy, procedures and processes used to ensure people are fit to serve
Statement:
90% of Top Secret investigations completed in average of 80 days or fewer and Secret investigations completed in average of 40 days or fewer.
Percent of milestones met in FBI/OPM implementation plan to provide emerging Criminal History Information to employing government agencies implementation plan
Description:
- Defining executive branch wide quality standards for background investigations and revising tools and measures to universally assess quality in collaboration with Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council,.
- Automating front-end processes to reduce paper investigation requests in support of Background Investigations timeliness standards.
- Implementing revised Federal Investigative standards.
- Establishing and enforcing standards for information systems used for management of adjudication decisions and data.
- Developing tools to deliver appropriate emerging information to decision makers.
- Developing automated tools to support efficiency and consistency in background investigation processes.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: Ensure that investigations achieve quality standards, while maintaining timeliness goals of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Throughout FY 2014 and 2015, OPM will target 99 percent or more of all OPM investigations adjudicated as “quality complete” by agencies receiving closed investigations.
Description: Beginning in FY 2013, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) further challenged the background investigations process by revising the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act timeliness metrics to establish a separate standard for Top Secret investigations. As a result, the DNI shifted greater management focus on the manpower intensive workload, necessitating the creation of revised workload management tools and rules to measure and manage workload by case type. While OPM has made significant progress on timeliness since 2004, the agency has maintained its primary focus on delivering top quality products to agencies. OPM will work with its executive branch reform partners to develop and implement Executive Branch quality standards, with a measurement tool designed for universal application during both the investigative and adjudicative processes. OPM will focus on implementing these additional initiatives while maintaining timeliness objectives. OPM will satisfy all national security standards, deliver quality products, and achieve Congressional and DNI mandated timeliness goals. OPM is sensitive to the fiscal environment and the need for customer agencies (i.e., the employing or sponsoring agencies) to have more insight into the costs of background investigations. To this end, OPM will continue conducting business efficiency studies and maturing its cost allocation model to provide more detailed cost data and to optimize the value of OPM’s investigative products to agency adjudicators, which in turn translates into better value to taxpayers.
