Be sure to follow our latest DPSAC Newsletter and see below for previous newsletters, articles and topics we have covered.
- December 28, 2022 - "Year-End Message from the DPSAC Director" & "2022 DPSAC Newsletter Highlights in Review"
Read some of our highlights from the DPSAC news articles published over the past year!
On Wednesday, December 7th, 2022, there was a seven-day outage of the Position Designation Automated Tool (PDT), which has affected administrators' ability to submit a number of tasks via the NED system. The PDT site has been restored and administrators are now able to resume some tasks in the NED Portal. DPSAC will be contacting Administrative Officers who have already uploaded a non-PDT temporary document to complete and resubmit the PDT with the individual’s HHS ID via email. Please remember that in the event of any future issues with or temporary outages of the automated PDT, you may still evaluate position risk and sensitivity levels to designate positions and determine the proper level of investigation by using the hardcopy Position Designation System (PDS). For more information, please read the full article in the newsletter.
Understand why those needing to complete a badge renewal must travel to an NIH Enrollment & Issuance Facility. Read about sample scenarios of when new fingerprints are typically required.
Stay up-to-date on the functionality changes and enhancements that the NED team has recently deployed and released on Saturday, October 22.
Learn how a federal employee can properly fill out this required method that determines the correct background investigation for an applicant who is applying for a position in the Federal Government, as it is essential to successfully and consistently fill out the PDT.
- October 19, 2022 - "Employees/Contractors Should Not Repeatedly Access the NIH Campus via Gateway Center to Avoid Undergoing Required Background Investigations"
Differentiate the types of badge an individual needs and if they need to go through a background investigation. Any employee/contractor who needs to access campus for more than 6 months should not be utilizing the Gateway Center as their means to enter the NIH campus and should go through the DPSAC background investigation process to get a PIV card. Individuals who attempt to use the Gateway Center as a means to avoid the required background investigation may be banned from entering NIH facilities.
- October 5, 2022 - "DCSA Products & Services Billing Rates for FY 2023 & FY 2024"
See DCSA's announcement on the final pricing for their products and services for fiscal year (FY) 2023 and the updated estimated prices for FY 2024.
When an employee, contractor or affiliate plans on leaving the employ of NIH, understand the required process the departing staff member must go through and how to properly return his/her ID badge to DPSAC.
- September 7, 2022 - "Approved Identity Documents for HSPD-12 PIV Enrollment and Badge Issuance"
Be prepared and know what two forms of approved identity source documents to bring during an applicant's Badge Enrollment appointment.
Check out our DPSAC Kiosk that now includes a new software that allows DPSAC customers to submit employment history information required for completing the DPSAC prescreening process in standard format.
- August 10, 2022 - "Review of DPSAC's Two Types of Fingerprinting Services"
Know the difference between the two different types of DPSAC fingerprint services, as the two should not be confused with one another when communicating with applicants and individuals needing a new PIV/RLA badge.
Different types of transactions will affect badges in different ways. It is important to note that RLA (orange stripe) badges are fragile when it comes to new NED transactions. An individual’s badge will be revoked immediately if this individual has been in the United States for more than three (3) years, has an RLA badge and will be getting a PIV badge. Read this article to further understand scenarios discussing the different types of badge termination dates and how to avoid accidentally revoking badges and NED records.
- July 13, 2022 - "Watch for Those "Awaiting Individual Enrollment" Badge Tracking Statuses!"
Prior to authorizing an individual’s ID badge, DPSAC must ensure that all required forms for the background investigation are completed fully and accurately. This part of the process usually entails several back and forth communications between DPSAC and the individual, which is where it may get confusing following the NED badge tracking status. Read this article to better understand the statuses displayed in NED .
- June 29, 2022 - "Process Overview Before an Individual Can Pick Up Their Badge"
All applicants must work closely with DPSAC to satisfy all the federally mandated requirements for obtaining access to NIH facilities or information systems, obtaining a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) or other NIH ID badge, or completing the background investigation required for their position with the U.S. Government. To complete the DPSAC prescreening process, it takes on average 30 business days from administrative sponsorship in NED to badge issuance, not including additional time incurred due to non-responsiveness of applicant, and suitability/security issues on prescreening paperwork. Understand the complete DPSAC process overview for both AOs and applicants in order to best help the applicant receive their proper ID badge in a timely manner before they are able to start their new position at the NIH.
- June 15, 2022 - "Review of NIH Position Classifications and Corresponding ID Badges"
Determining an individual's correct classification when registering him/her into NED is an important first step in the badging process, as this ensures that individual is vetted appropriately and issued the correct badge to allow them appropriate access at the NIH. Depending on the position classification, the individual will be eligible for one of three ID badge types. Readers are encouraged to read, bookmark and save this webpage: Review of NIH Position Classifications and Corresponding ID Badges, as this webpage allows readers to understand each of the 16 position classifications.
Before employees, contractors or affiliates can start a new position at the NIH or be issued an ID badge, they must complete the ‘Prescreening’ process through DPSAC. The prescreening process takes, on average, 30 business days from administrative badge sponsorship in NED to badge issuance, not including additional time incurred due to non-responsiveness of applicant, and suitability/security issues on prescreening paperwork. Read the most common Q&As and specifics about Prescreening, which also now includes a "DPSAC New Hire Prescreening Checklist for Program & Applicant," which is a useful checklist for all AOs to refer to.
When an employee, contractor or affiliate plans on leaving the employ of NIH, understand the required process the departing staff member must go through and how to properly return his/her ID badge to DPSAC.
- May 4, 2022 - "Next Steps in Processing the Clinical and Graduate Medical Education Fellows"
Be prepared to know specific details that will help smoothly guide fellows in receiving their DPSAC prescreening clearance for Entry on Duty, and their NIH PIV badge in a timely manner. Next steps include checking in on your Clinical Fellows, as they must complete DPSAC's prescreening requirements no later than June 1, 2022, which is four weeks prior to their July 1 start date. This includes encouraging fellows to submit crossmatch fingerprints for prescreening as soon as possible, which can be done via Fieldprint.
- April 20, 2022 - "DPSAC’s Implementation of Suitability Reinvestigations for Tier 2 (T2) and Tier 4 (T4) Public Trust Positions"
Know what population is next as DPSAC continues to follow OPM's Suitability Reinvestigation Requirements.
Stay up to date on mitigation measures being taken as we adapt to COVID-19 community levels and as staff begin to return to onsite work.
- March 23, 2022 - "Process Overview Before an Individual Can Pick Up Their Badge "
Understand the complete DPSAC process overview for both AOs and applicants in order to best help the applicant receive their proper ID badge in a timely manner before they are able to start their new position at the NIH.
Stay up-to-date on the functionality changes and enhancements that the NED team has recently deployed and released on Saturday, March 5, 2022.
Understand the difference between Intermittent vs. Non-Intermittent, as this delineation is used to determine the type of background investigation required for the individual.
- February 9, 2022 - "Marijuana Still Considered a Controlled Substance Under Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act"
While several states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the use of marijuana and have allowed the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and/or for limited recreational, it is important to note that the Federal law on marijuana remains unchanged: Marijuana is categorized as a controlled substance under Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act.
In CY 2023, the NIH will experience a sustained spike in badge renewals. Without proper planning, DPSAC will have insufficient operational capacity to process the 19,000+ renewals in a timely manner, potentially leading to long wait times for PIV and RLA card holders. DPSAC has several tools at its disposal to mitigate the impact of the expiration spikes. Through a combination of badge smoothing as well as ancillary measures, DPSAC will be positioned to mitigate negative operational impacts. Badge Smoothing entails ‘force renewing’ badges in advance of their natural expiration, allowing DPSAC to issue badges during periods of lesser volume. In this case, DPSAC is shifting large swaths of CY23 expiring badge holders to CY22 and the remainder of CY21, as shown below in the chart. Please read this article to further understand the mechanics behind this effort, as the overall success is dependent on AOs completing badge renewal tasks as they appear in their NED inboxes.
- January 12, 2022 - "DPSAC’s Implementation of Suitability Reinvestigations for Tier 2 (T2) and Tier 4 (T4) Public Trust Positions"
Know what population is next as DPSAC continues to follow OPM's Suitability Reinvestigation Requirements.
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