U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Evaluation of the Department of State’s Security Clearance Process

ESP-17-02
    Report Contents
    Unclassified
    Recommendation Number
    1
    Closed Implemented

    The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Personnel Security and Suitability, should inform the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the inaccuracies identified by OIG and the steps it is taking to correct these errors. These steps should increase the accuracy of data for the time it takes to process both initial and reciprocal clearances, specifically by measuring the time it takes for clearances to move through the initiation stage rather than relying upon a blanket estimate, removing cancelled cases from its data, making corrections to its timeliness formula, and reconciling any data discrepancies in its case management systems.

    Recommendation Number
    2
    Closed Implemented

    The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Personnel Security and Suitability, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, should establish clear responsibilities for the processing of security clearance requests in order to reduce or eliminate unnecessary delays in the clearance process and require appropriate training for all Human Resources personnel involved in the process.

    Recommendation Number
    3
    Closed Implemented

    The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should perform a workforce analysis of its employees who perform security clearance work to ensure that it has the proper staffing levels in place to meet its timeliness goals.

    Recommendation Number
    4
    Closed Implemented

    The Bureau of Human Resources should establish procedures to use the Office of Personnel Management's automated tool to assess the proper security clearance necessary for work performed by student interns.

    Recommendation Number
    5
    Open Resolved

    The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Personnel Security and Suitability should determine the actual cost of the security clearance work it performs for other Government agencies in order to fully recoup its expended funds, in accordance with the Economy Act and Department policy.

    Recommendation Number
    6
    Closed Not Implemented

    The Bureau of Diplomatic Security should seek reimbursement for funds it expended for work performed for other Government agencies from 2009 through 2016, in accordance with the Economy Act and Department policy.