The Adjudication Branch located within the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) has the authority delegated by The Health and Human Services, Office of Security under Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, part 731 (5 CFR731) to make suitability determinations and take suitability actions in cases involving covered positions for Federal employees, fitness for contractors and affiliates that are subject to a background investigation.
Public service requires high standards of integrity and trust to promote the interests of the public.
Adjudication Process:
The adjudication process is an examination of a sufficient period of a person's life to make an affirmative determination that the person is an acceptable security risk. The adjudication process is the careful weighing of several variables known as the whole person concept. It contains available, reliable information about the person, past and present. The final suitability determination should be based on a person's identifiable character traits and conduct sufficient to decide whether employment or continued employment would or would not protect the integrity or promote the efficiency of the service after consideration of all these variables. Favorable and unfavorable information will be considered in reaching a determination.
The following 5 steps describe the adjudication process. Please click on each of them for more detail.
Importance of Complying with a DCSA Investigator: As part of any investigation, there is a possibility of getting contacted by a DCSA investigator. It is important to emphasize that individuals must still cooperate with the requests, even if they may have already received their badge. Failure to do so can result in the individual's investigation being cancelled, which can result in revocation of the individual's NIH badge (if issued one). For the interview, the individual will be required to provide photo identification, such as a valid state driver's license. The individual may be required to provide other documents to verify his/her identity, as instructed by the investigator.
Individuals may call the DCSA Investigator Hotline at 878-274-1186 or use this link to verify the credentials of the DCSA investigator: https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/pv/mbi/vi/.
DCSA Special Agents and contract Investigators carry credentials identifying them as representatives of DCSA. They will present their credentials upon introduction. Further questions related to an Agent's/Investigator's identity or status should be directed to DCSA Security: dcsa.boyers.bi.mbx.investigator-verifications@mail.mil.
Investigator Verification Hotline at 878-274-1186
Calls and emails will be answered between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. At all other times, individuals can leave a message, which will be answered on the next business day.
