Despite growth in the workload for security clearances, the processing is being handled in a more timely manner, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which conducts about nine-tenths of the government’s background investigations since taking over substantial new responsibilities from the Defense Department last year.
Delays in getting clearances have long been a sore point for federal managers who typically can’t put employees or contractors on a job until the needed clearance is okayed.
OPM said the number of top secret cases it handles has increased from about 3,000 in 2004 to 7,000 or more in 2006. For secret/confidential clearance investigations, the number increased from approximately 14,000 per month in 2004 to 34,000 per month in 2006.
For top secret investigations, the average completion time has been reduced from 341 days in February 2004 to 161 days in May 2006. For all others, the time has been reduced from 198 days in February 2004 to 144 days in May 2006. Average processing times for priority top secret clearances and all other clearances are 53 and 64 days respectively.
OPM inherited more than 145,000 investigations in process from the Defense Security Service in February 2005 and has reduced this caseload by more than 90 percent in those 15 months, with only 14,000 cases pending.
It cited upgrades to the agency’s clearance verification system, eliminating redundancy and promoting reciprocal acceptance of clearance determinations. Initiatives underway include an expansion of the contract workforce to handle the elevated workload; working with the State Department and the Department of Defense to expand international investigations; and dedicating staff to assist in processing overdue requests.
