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May 3, 2004
OPM Advances E-Clearance Initiative
Move
will gain efficiencies in the investigative process
Washington, D.C. - Through the
use of technology developed by its E-Clearance initiative,
the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has streamlined the
completion of the security questionnaire by automating that
data collection process. This technology also is eliminating
duplication of effort and promotes more accurate and effective
exchange of information among the agencies processing personnel
security actions.
"Investigating a person's background is something that
must be done in order to ensure that they are what the American
people want: loyal, suitable and capable individuals who are
ready to serve their fellow citizens and conduct the nation's
business," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. "And
through the technology that we have created, OPM is making
sure that the background investigations process becomes more
reliable while simultaneously promoting efficiency."
Improvements to the E-Clearance process include the Clearance
Verification System (CVS), a system designed to monitor and
provide access to existing security clearance information
(it also enables the verification of clearances and agency
assignment of employees); and, the electronic Questionnaires
for Investigations Processing (eQIP), an automated information
collection tool that obtains data from the applicant, thus
alleviating the burden on the applicant, reducing the error
rejection rate of applications and shortening the information
collection period so that investigations can be scheduled
sooner.
OPM opened a training laboratory to provide
personnel security officers training and experience on the
CVS and eQIP systems. For larger groups, the OPM E-Clearance
team travels to agencies to demonstrate the new systems. Twenty-eight
agencies have received training at the lab located in Crystal
City, Virginia, and three have received offsite training.
(To date, 178 individuals have been "trained as trainers.")
Departments and Agencies trained include:
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Justice
- Department of Transportation
- General Services Administration
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Department of State
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Office of Special Counsel
- President's Commission on White House
Fellows
- Administrative Office of United States
Courts
- Federal Reserve Board
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Patent and Trademark Office
- National Science Foundation
- Federal Communications Commission
- Department of Energy
- Department of the Interior
Looking forward, the OPM E-Clearance initiative
will complete the development of a secure communications portal
to support the sharing of electronic investigative files among
authorized federal users. The E-Clearance initiative will
also undertake a business process reengineering effort to
identify, and electronically automate, investigative and adjudicative
best practices.
These activities will empower the personnel security community
to make informed clearance decisions in a more efficient and
effective manner, reducing the time required to grant clearances.
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