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February 18, 2015 issue of the DPSAC NEWS
In This Issue
National Security Background Investigation Required for NIH Staff Working at Walter Reed
New Visitor Access Requirements Coming to NIH October, 2015
NED Training Schedule for FY 2015
New Badging Requirements for NIH Summer Interns
Reminder - Submitting a Completed e-QIP is Mandatory Before Badge Issuance
Helpful Tips
FAQs

   

 

Contact Us

 

Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC),  

Office of Research Services  

 

Personnel Security 

Helpdesk: 301-402-9755

e-QIP: 301-402-9735

Appointment Line: 301-496-0051

E-mail: orspersonnelsecurity@ 

mail.nih.gov

 

Access Control

Helpdesk: 301-451-4766

E-mail: facilityaccesscontrol@ 

mail.nih.gov

 

       

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National Security Background Investigation Required for NIH Staff Working at Walter Reed

AO Role is Key to Timely Completion of Higher-Level Background Investigation


NIH Administrative Officers (AOs) and Administrative Technicians (ATs) need to plan ahead for individuals who expect to rotate through or work at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) since they will require a higher level (National Security) background investigation in order to work at that facility.

NIH staff applying for positions of national security must complete the Questionnaire for National Security Positions [SF86] and undergo the appropriate background investigation. DPSAC strongly suggests that individuals print an Archival Copy of the completed SF86 for their records.*

Because the process for completing a higher level background investigation takes considerable time, DPSAC is advising AOs and ATs to initiate the process as soon as the candidates know that they will be working at WRNMMC. 

 

* The SF86 will be used by the United States (U.S.) Government in conducting background investigations, reinvestigations, and continuous evaluations of persons under consideration for, or retention of, national security positions as defined in 5 CFR 732, and for individuals requiring eligibility for access to classified information under Executive Order 12968. This form may also be used by agencies in determining whether a subject performing work for, or on behalf of, the Government under a contract should be deemed eligible for logical or physical access when the nature of the work to be performed is sensitive and could bring about an adverse effect on the national security.   

 

New Visitor Access Requirements Coming to NIH October, 2015  

 
Provisions in the REAL ID Act of 2005 become effective October 10, 2015 for all federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. These provisions require agencies to only accept state-issued driver's licenses or identification cards for access to federal facilities if they are issued by states that are REAL ID compliant or have an extension (Table B).

Driver's licenses from states and territories that are non-compliant with the REAL ID Act (Table A) will not be accepted as identification. Individuals with non-compliant driver's licenses will be subject to alternative access control procedures for purposes covered by the Act.  
  
Individuals will still be able to use alternate forms of acceptable identification as listed on the federal 'I-9 Form' to gain access to these federal facilities. The I-9 Form is posted at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Documents/Table.pdf.

 

Table A - Non-compliant States/Territories

+ Federal officials may continue to accept Enhanced Driver's Licenses from these states.

** Has an expired extension and became subject to enforcement beginning January 19, 2015

 

Table B - Compliant/Extension States/Territories

* Has an extension, allowing Federal agencies to accept driver's licenses from these states.

 

Starting July 13, 2015 (i.e., three months before the REAL ID Act will be mandatorily enforced), NIH will notify individuals attempting to use driver's licenses or identification cards from non-compliant states about the upcoming change. During this period individuals will still be allowed access to NIH using a driver's license from a non-compliant state.

To learn more about REAL ID and how it will affect NIH, please refer to the February 4, 2015 DPSAC News. This issue contains a detailed explanation of the REAL ID Act, the phased-in enforcement of the Act at federal facilities and a collection of Frequently Asked Questions published on the Department of Homeland Security website at: REAL ID FAQs for the Public. 

 

NED Training Schedule for FY 2015   

Whether you are new to NED or an advanced NED user who needs to hone your NED skills, the HSPD-12 Program Office has a training program for you. These classes are designed to help beginners and advanced users quickly master NED in a hands-on computer lab environment. All classes are FREE!    

   

       

How to Enroll

The NED courses are posted on the CIT Training site where visitors can view availability for any class and receive a confirmation immediately after registering. The catalog of NED classes is posted at: http://training.cit.nih.gov/coursecatalog.aspx under "General Seminars." 

 

When you see a course you want to take, just click on the course name (listed in the right column of the table). You will be taken to the HHS Learning Management System (LMS) where you can register for the course online.

 

To log on to the HHS Learning Management System, you can use either your PIV card and PIN or your NIH credentials. If you experience any difficulties accessing the LMS, please contact the CIT Training Program at 301-594-6248 or send an e-mail to: cittraining@mail.nih.gov.   
 

New Badging Requirements for NIH Summer Students

 

With spring just a month away (March 20), can NIH summer students be far behind? When this year's 'class' of summer students begins arriving at NIH for their assignments, they will be required to undergo a fingerprint check administered by the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) in order to receive NIH's new Restricted Local Access (RLA) ID Badge.  

 

Once the results of the fingerprint check have been successfully reviewed by DPSAC, the summer students will be issued their RLA badge. Any issues identified through the fingerprint check, (i.e., issues that might impact the suitability of the summer student to do the proposed work at NIH), must be reviewed by the Personnel Security Office in DPSAC and the respective IC prior to issuance of an RLA Badge.

 

The RLA badge serves the same purpose as the PIV Card, providing both physical and logical (NIH Network and IT systems) access, and is issued to short-term staff (at NIH less than six months), summer students and foreign nationals. When an Administrative Officer requests an ID badge in the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) for anyone in these categories, a request for an RLA Badge will automatically be generated.

 

An RLA Badge will be valid for the duration of the summer student's appointment, but will expire no later than September 30 of the year it is issued. The badge will provide perimeter physical access to NIH. Summer students must remain under escort in restricted areas.  

 

To learn more about summer student badging policies at NIH, click on:



 

Reminder -- Submitting a Completed e-QIP is Mandatory Before Badge Issuance 

DPSAC is not issuing PIV cards (HHS ID Badges) to individuals who have not completed their Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) and had DPSAC staff review the documents for submission to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).   

 

This federal policy stipulates that before an NIH employee, contractor or affiliate can be issued a PIV Card (HHS ID Badge) to access NIH facilities and NIH IT resources, s/he must first accurately complete and submit the e-QIP and related investigation forms in a timely manner to allow DPSAC time to review and release them to OPM.

If DPSAC determines the application forms are incomplete, DPSAC will be required to send the documents back to the individual for completion, thus delaying the badging process. All new employees, contactors and affiliates must follow these guidelines. There are no exceptions! * 

 

Individuals new to NIH who do not complete their e-QIP prior to their "Entry on Duty" (EOD) day will not receive a PIV card until this review and release process is completed.  

 

Advanced Planning for EOD  

The NIH administrative community can help new staff members by entering them into the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) BEFORE they arrive at NIH. This will give individuals the ability to complete e-QIP before they start at NIH and avoid the significant inconvenience of having to go without an HHS ID Badge because they didn't complete and submit their e-QIP forms to DPSAC.

 

To help the NIH administrative community manage this new policy, the HSPD-12 Program Office recently circulated a sample e-mail to ICs that they can adapt for their use. ICs are encouraged to make this e-mail a regular part of their communications with their new hires to alert them to their responsibilities regarding e-QIP submission.  
  

The following chart from May 2014 illustrates the most common quality errors and the overall rate of occurrence cited by OPM.    

 

* If DPSAC determines that the individual has a background investigation on file that is still valid, and is equal to or higher than the level of investigation required for the position, e-QIP will not be required.       

 

Helpful Tips
The NIH Badging Authority by Classification Table (Rev.2-3-15) -- is now posted for viewing by NIH staff on the NIH network at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/badge/Pages/NIH-Badging-Authority-by-Classification-Table.aspx. This table identifies the badge type, the corresponding Badging Authority - DPSAC or the NIH Police Department - for each classification, and examples of positions falling within each classification.

The table also reflects new policies and procedures for issuing Extended Visitor (NIH 'Legacy') badges to Service Providers, Board Members, Construction Workers and others who are not registered in the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) and may need frequent physical access to NIH facilities. The Extended Visitor ID Badge Application form (pdf) is posted under 'Highlights' on the main page of the NIH Security website: www.security.nih.gov.

An updated directory of PSC regional support staff in 10 HHS regional offices supporting HSPD-12 badging activities -- can be viewed on the DPSAC website at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/badge/Pages/badgingremote.aspx.

ICs that want to add Lifecycle Work Station (LWS) operators to the approved roster -- send a written request to Richie Taffet at: 
taffetr@mail.nih.gov. Your request should include:
  • the new operator's name
  • his/her IC
  • his/her NED number
  • the operator's e-mail address, building/room and phone number
Once Mr. Taffet has approved the request, he will forward the name(s) to HHSIdentityAdmins@deloitte.com to complete the approval process, add the name(s) to the LWS operator roster, and inform the IC that the individual is now approved to operate the LWS.

Need to make changes to the LWS operator directories? -- drop an e-mail to Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and let him know what needs changing (e.g., adding new operators or LWS locations, removing operators, etc.). Remember, before a new operator can be added to the LWS directory, s/he must first be approved by Richie Taffet (see preceding Helpful Tip).

AOs who wish to obtain sponsor authority -- must complete the sponsor training (available at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Training/Pages/administrators.aspx) and fax the completion certificate to the HSPD-12 Program Office at 301-480-0108. If the fax does not go through, send the scanned PIV Sponsor Certificate via e-mail to Richie Taffet (Taffetr@mail.nih.gov). Upon receipt of the certificate, the Program Office will authorize the AO as a sponsor.  

If an LWS is not available in your IC or your immediate area, and you work in the greater Bethesda or Rockville area -- please call 301-451-4766 or 301-402-9755 to schedule an appointment with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control located in Building 31, Room B1A26 or in Building 10, South Lobby, Room 1C52.

If you work outside the Bethesda/Rockville area, contact your local badge issuance office. You can find contact information for all badge issuance offices at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Pages/contactinfo.aspx.


FAQs

Q. An individual on our staff who is a clinical rotator recently received the following an e-mail notification from the NIH Police indicating that she would need an extended visitor badge. We have been going through this process for a couple of years now and have never required an extended visitor badge. Please advise.

I have attached a copy of the e-mail below for your reference:

" ** If you have already been fingerprinted for your NIH ID Badge, please disregard this e-mail.**

To be in compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12, there are new background requirements for visitors requesting unfettered access to a federal facility. In order to receive an ID badge, you must be fingerprinted. 

 

Please complete the Extended Visitor Form and visit our office at the NIH Gateway Center (Building 66) or the NIH Clinical Center (Building 10, P1 Level), Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00am - 4:00pm to be fingerprinted. It may take up to ten (10) days to process your request.  On the eleventh day you may go the NIH Gateway Center, Building 66 or Building 10 to obtain up your NIH badge. You must present a government issued I-9 document (photo identification) when being fingerprinted and to obtain your badge..."

 

A. Clinical Rotators will not be able to obtain a badge without being fingerprinted. While AOs must still request a badge for Clinical Rotators through NED, the Extended Visitor form requested by the NIH Police provides them with the necessary information to be able to take and submit fingerprints to OPM.  NED does not currently capture all the required information to process a fingerprint check for Clinical Rotators (and thus the need for the form).  


Q. I'm a new employee to NIH and at my orientation I noticed that some of the other new employees were getting their ID Badges. Not so for me. Why is that?

 

A. One possible reason that you were unable to get your ID Badge on your first day is that you failed to release your background investigation forms (e-QIP) to the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC). The current requirement for issuing an ID Badge includes: (1) the release of e-QIP to DPSAC; (2) DPSAC's review of the submission; and (3) DPSAC's releasing the reviewed e-QIP to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Only then can an ID Badge be issued.


A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.