Office of Crisis Planning and Management

4th Edition FY 2003, 1st Quarter

Office of Procurement and Property Management Personnel and Document Security Division USDA Personnel Security Newsletter Personnel and Document Security Division Earns National Award

In early November, the Personnel and Document Security Division (PDSD) received the FY 2002 Guardian Award from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This annual award is given to the one federal entity that best uses innovative solutions to solve today’s personnel challenges. OPM Deputy Director, Dan Blair, presented the award at this year’s Security Professionals Conference. The conference attendees included several hundred personnel security specialists from across the federal government. USDA representatives at the awards luncheon were from the Office of Procurement and Property Management (OPPM) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration. Clifford Oliver, Chief, PDSD, and Marty Brumback, Associate Chief; PDSD accepted the award for USDA. Lou Gallegos, Assistant Secretary for Administration (ASA), provided comments for the Department.

Following the OPM Awards Ceremony, ASA Lou Gallegos hosted an awards reception to acknowledge the efforts of the staff that made the award possible. The award is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to improve the delivery of personnel security services.

Pictured Above at the OPM Awards Luncheon are (left to Pictured Above at the ASA Awards Reception (left right): Anthony right): Verdell bov Dixon, Carl Johns, ASA Lou Gallegos, Cliff Balbosa , Verdell Dixon, Cyra Lorensen, Lucy Lew, Carrie Moore, Oliver, OPM Deputy Director Dan Blair, Marty Brumback, Clifford Oliver, John Surina, Marty Brumback, Karen Maguire, Carl Johns, and Deputy ASA John Surina and Joseph Monroe.

Have comments or suggestions for future articles? Please contact Verdell Dixon at (202) 720-PDSD (7373) or [email protected] Reorganization In February 2002, Departmental Regulation 4600-2, entitled Completed Procedures for Denial or Revocation for Access to On October 1, 2002, the Office National Security Information of Crisis Planning and was issued. The regulation Management (OCPM) was creates the USDA Personnel abolished and most Security Review Board (PSRB) functions were transferred and layed out the process to be to the Office of used in USDA to provide a final Procurement and Property level of administrative appeal for Management (OPPM). As persons whose security clearance a result, OCPM’s has been denied or revoked. Personnel Security Since that time, the PSRB has Division, is now the been busy working on two cases OPPM Personnel and where employees have appealed Document Security the revocation of their security Division (PDSD). These clearances. Both cases have been organizational changes concluded and there are no cases will not have impact on pending before the PSRB at this our ability to deliver time. personnel security New Personnel services. Security Bulletin The biggest impact on our on Separating customers is that PDSD has a new phone number and e-mail Employees Issued address as shown below: The Personnel and Document Personnel and Document Security Division has issued Security Division Personnel Security Bulletin # 03- Room S-302 Mail Stop 9305 01 Terminating Access to 1400 Independence Ave National Security Information Washington, D.C. 20250 for Separating Employees. This Phone: (202) 720-PDSD bulletin is intended to ensure that (7373) USDA employees, with access to Fax: (202) 720-7708 national security information, E-mail: [email protected] receive a security debriefing before separating from the Department. In accordance with this bulletin, on November 8, USDA’s Personnel 2002, we started sending out a Security Review salmon colored sheet of paper (see attachment #1 to the Board Eliminates bulletin) to be placed on the top Backlog of the left side of employee’s Official Personnel File. This notice is intended to remind human resources staff to ensure that a USDA employee, who has been granted access to national security information, receives a debriefing prior to separating from USDA. This debriefing is required under Executive Order 12968 Access to National Security Information. Once the employee receives their debriefing, they will be provided a memo (see attachment #2 to the bulletin) from our office as confirmation that they were debriefed.

Personnel Security Bulletins contain important information for those working in personnel security and we encourage everyone to read them as soon as possible. All the Bulletins are posted on our web site http://www.usda.gov/da/pdsd/bul letins.htm in both PDF and Microsoft Word® versions for easy viewing.

Personnel Security Factoid Did you know that in FY 2002, the Personnel Security Division processed in excess of 4000 requests for personnel security services, more than 3 times any other fiscal year on record? Changes in the Personnel Security Personnel Challenged to Meet Security Program Performance Goal and Staffing If you have read previous As with any organization, staff personnel security newsletter, comes and goes. Presently, the you are aware that the Personnel Personnel and Document and Document Security Division Security Division consists of: has experienced slippage in meeting its performance goal of Division Chief adjudicating closed personnel Clifford Oliver security cases within 30 calendar [email protected] days of when OPM closes the investigation. The surge in Associate Division Chief workload continues to have the Marty Brumback unfortunate result of causing us [email protected] to slip in our processing time for closed cases. Recently, it has Division Secretary been taking about 45 calendar Cynthia Powell days, on the average, to [email protected] adjudicate cases from when they were closed by OPM. Personnel Security Specialists Verdell Dixon We are presently implementing [email protected] several alternatives to address Carl Johns carl.johns.usda.gov this slippage. Actions underway Cyra Lorenson* include increasing the level of [email protected] contractor support and using Vanessa Gates* detailed staff from agencies to [email protected] assist us. Anthony Balbosa* [email protected] Carrie Moore* Personnel Security [email protected] Web Site Relocated James McDermott* [email protected] as Part of Reorganization Administrative Support Lucy Lew [email protected] The USDA personnel security Joseph Monroe* web site, now located at [email protected] (http://www.usda.gov/da/pdsd/), provides information on our * Contract staff personnel security program. You will need to reset all your bookmarks and “favorites” since our web address has changed. As a reminder the for employees to access following forms and information personnel security services. are available on or web site: There are three major emphases to this effort; each one is called a ®  A Microsoft Word 2000 Module. More information on fillable version of the SF-86 the E-clearance initiative can be Questionnaire on National found at: The E-Clearance Security has been posted Initiative  A Microsoft Word 2000 ® fillable version of the Module One - Electronic Request for Personnel Questionnaire for Security Services form has Investigations Processing (e- been posted QIP)

 All Personnel Security The first Module is to allow Newsletters have been federal employees to complete posted in both Microsoft the paperwork for a security Word® and PDF format clearance on line and submit it electronically to their agency for  All Personnel Security review and transmission to OPM Bulletins have been posted in for investigation. A major ® both Microsoft Word and milestone was reached in PDF format November 2002 when OPM  Information on Web-based activated the Electronic Information Security Questionnaire for Investigative Training has been posted Processing web site known as e- QIP. This module has four major As always, comments and initiatives. The first is the suggestions on further improving application, which allows the the web site are welcome and user to fill out their security should be sent to Carrie Moore questionnaire. This has been at [email protected] through alpha testing, programming changes were made and it is now in beta Efforts Towards testing. Implementing E- The second application is the one that moves the form from the Security Make server and to the sponsoring Progress agency. This is now in alpha testing and will soon move back If you have been keeping up to the programming staff to with our newsletters, you know allow changes to improve its that the U.S. Office of Personnel operation. The third application Management (OPM) is working has been programmed and was on rolling out e-security scheduled for an initial round of initiatives, called E-clearance testing mid-fall. All three that should soon make it easier applications are on schedule for a target implementation date of OPM and the DOD are June 2003. The fourth major establishing a link between the initiative is the deployment of a SII and JPAS so that clearances new form, the SF 86C, which is may be searched in a "one-stop a certification form that allows shopping" manner. In an individual to use an conjunction with this, the abbreviated form to indicate that loading of civilian clearances there have been no changes to into the SII started in May of his/her last execution of the 2002. Each week additional lengthy SF 86, or to indicate clearances are loaded. Both what changes have taken place. initiatives are on schedule for The SF 86C should reduce form their target completion dates of execution from hours to minutes. December 31, 2002 and January Deployment of this form is 31, 2003. scheduled for October 2003. PDSD is working closely with Currently agencies participating the National Finance Center and in the pilot phase are utilizing OPM to supply security the web site. USDA and other information on USDA federal agencies are scheduled to employees. Once operational, begin utilizing the web site in each federal department security June 2003. PDSD will work office will have access to the closely with USDA agencies to database and will be able to make sure this initial step in the determine the status of each transition to a paperless person’s clearance. personnel security process goes smoothly. Module Three - Imaging of Investigative Records. Module Two - Clearance Verification System (CVS) Module Three includes the creation, storage, and retrieval of Module Two consists of the digital image investigative development and information. Often times, the implementation of a cross- longest delay in an investigation agency Clearance Verification can be the retrieval, copying and System (CVS). This initiative mailing of previous includes the load of all civilian investigations. Imaging will agency clearance information result in ease of retrieval and into the OPM Personnel Security dissemination to authorized Investigations Index (SII) and, users. simultaneously, its connection to the Department of Defense's All personnel security Joint Personnel Adjudication investigative agencies of the System (JPAS). This will enable, government have agreed to for the first time, one search to image their records for ease of locate investigative and transfer to other authorized clearance information in either users. Target commencement of system and for any agency. this imaging is May 2003 and OPM reports the initiative is on schedule.

Chief Personnel and Document Security Division Marty Brumback Associate Chief Personnel and Document Security Division