https://soundcloud.com/clearancejobs/why-do-background-investigations-take-so-long
“There have been a confluence of events over the past several years that has led us to where we are today,” said William Henderson, a contributor to ClearanceJobs and the co-founder of the Federal Clearance Assistance Service. He noted two factors which contributed to the massive delays being seen today.
- Discontinuance of the contract with USIS.
- Funding problems
“Basically, we’re back to where we were in the early 2000’s when it comes to turnaround time,” said Henderson.
When the contract with USIS ended, a number of background investigators simply threw in the towel and opted not to continue their career with another company. The issues have since been exacerbated by funding uncertainties, including a two-week government shut down and a series of continuous resolutions.
In 2012/2013, things were working well when it comes to productivity, but not as well when it comes to quality, noted Henderson. Then, the government started to consider the need for better quality investigative products (without really implementing any new solutions to create them), and around this time is when funding shortfalls and contract issues begin the spiral toward a 500,000 case backlog.
