Individuals
working for the Federal government
whose jobs require that they handle sensitive
and classified information must go through a process
to obtain a security clearance. Currently, all
security clearance applications are made on a
paper-based form (SF-86). High levels of clerical
error, labor-intensive data entry processes, and
duplicative data entry are prevalent. Security
clearance information is frequently not shared
among agencies and finding clearance status can
be time consuming and costly.
The E-Clearance initiative seeks to ensure that
sensible policies and procedures are in place
to improve the current security clearance process.
The initiative’s first component is the
Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing
(E-QIP), an automated on-line version of security
clearance application form SF-86. With E-QIP,
current work processes will move from a paper-based
to an electronic environment, but the information
requested and transmitted will remain the same.
The second component
will be the development and implementation
of a cross-agency Clearance
Verification System (CVS). The CVS will provide
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and
all partnering agencies to a security investigation
access to the clearance data of each participating
agency database. By increasing the availability
of each agency’s database and making
clearance information more accessible, CVS
will improve agency accountability and enable
the transfer of clearances from one agency
to another.
E-Clearance’s third component
provides for imaging of investigative records
held
by myriad investigative agencies and making
them available electronically, among all authorized
federal users. In this regard, E-Clearance
will further facilitate the exchange of previous
investigative results and produce cost savings
through the elimination of redundant processes.
The
E-Clearance initiative will result in numerous
benefits for Federal agencies, including
a reduction in processing times for clearance-level
employees and increased reciprocity among
Federal agencies. It will streamline the
investigation and re-investigation process through
more
automation and less reliance on paper files.
Also, this initiative will improve data
accuracy and analysis. |