Continuous Evaluation (CE), a new-ish piece of the security clearance investigation process and a main element of Trusted Workforce 2.0, the government’s comprehensive overhaul of the personnel security process and a critical part of reducing the security clearance investigations backlog. Instead of periodic reinvestigation cycles, CE uses automated record checks to ensure adverse information is reported to the government continually, rather than triggered by an investigation. have a more continuous timeliness of information reviewed relating to the security clearance holder.
With any new policy, there is ambiguity, however. Particularly when the policy changes occur faster than some of the frameworks are able to keep up – a major problem for the security policy process, which is built on 1947 executive order. The current ambiguity created by having both periodic reinvestigations and CE operating in tandem came up with a recent question on the ClearanceJobsBlog:
It seems like the âcontinuous evaluationâ program is still evolving. Iâm still trying to get a better understanding of it. I was looking at some positions from a top defense contractor the other day and saw an interesting statement in their job req.
An Excerpt: ” Basic Qualifications: – Final Transferable Secret security clearance, last PR must be within the last 6 years or enrolled in the Continuous Evaluation (CE) program.
This seems to say that your clearance is good if you are enrolled in the CE program, even if your last PR was more than six years ago. I had my initial PR when I received TS (2012), however; it was moved to CE before it expired. My five-year period came and went and I did not have another PR. My last position also did not require a TS. My FSO informed me past December that my TS was âtransferableâ up 11/2022.
This makes it interesting when looking at and applying for jobs. Granted, most job postings state: âActive or Currentâ TS, Secret, etc⌠To me, this means youâre in your five-year scope, currently working in a cleared position. Some postings say âClearableâ, which is straight forward. My assumption for my situation has been that I have a TS, its âInactiveâ, but currently enrolled in CE. So, am I correct to assume itâs âinactiveâ? Does having a TS in CE that is âtransferableâ through 2022 make me eligible for TS positions?
For CE, there is still no codified timeline for how long you can be out of a cleared position before you would have to start from scratch with the background investigation process (for example, having your clearance enrolled in CE, deciding to leave the cleared industry for a bit and then re-enter the workforce). Itâs still a bit like the wild, wild west.
Advice: find a cleared position quickly so you can maintain your enrollment in CE and special access. When you are applying to defense contractors, be honest about what your Facility Security Officer has relayed to you as far as your CE enrollment or investigation status. Anyone with access to the Defense Information System for Security (DISS) should be able to see if you are enrolled in CE.
BACKGROUND OF CONTINUOUS EVALUATION
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) executed the program in December 2016 to modernize security processing and ensure government agencies keep a strong and trusted workforce.
Periodic reinvestigations (PR) are beginning to go away, but if you are enrolled, donât expect to be notified. These individuals will no longer have the usual PR, but instead have âongoingâ monitoring and an investigation only when something is triggered and verified under CE â per ClearanceJobs Senior Editor Lindy Kyzer, âthe government is counting on its system to find and flag the kind of information that would have previously come up during a PRâ – but through these automated checks.
Some PRs are being suspended if no security issues exist and the clearance holder is enrolled in CE. Under the broader Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, the need for a reinvestigation continues, but theyâll be conducted using a risk-driven model instead of the calendar-driven model that weâve seen for years.
CURRENT VS. PREVIOUS ACCESS
If youâre enrolled in CE and working on a cleared contract, your clearance remains âactiveâ. If youâve had a PR in the last few years, check with your FSO to see if you are enrolled in CE. Assuming youâre looking to go directly from one position to another at the same clearance level, your new company should be able to easily re-instate your clearance for your new position if you are not yet enrolled in CE.
If youâre working as a civilian, contractor, or military member in a classified role, you will remain under CE only as long as you maintain that affiliation.
But what if you leave and decide later to return to the cleared workforce like our blog poster? As of now, there is no timeline, but the guidance given is that CE would resume if the individual is deemed eligible for access to classified information, and that eligibility would remain current for two years – just like PRs.
Until CE is rolled out entirely, more regulations are put into action, and DISS fully replaces JPAS, we will continue to have questions asked and these murky answers.
If you work for industry as an FSO, reach out to your DCSA industrial security (IS) representative with specific questions about your cleared employees.
