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Personnel Security Program

Access Authorization Program
NNSA possesses approximately half of the Department of Energy (DOE) active personnel security clearances, including 65% of the "Q" (which is for nuclear weapons information) clearance population.  The NNSA Service Center works to pass these clearances in a way that is both efficient and effective.

  • Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP):
    Over 99% of all clearance requests are now submitted via e-QIP.  E-QIP is part of President Bush's e-Government Management Agenda aimed at making it simpler for citizens to receive high-quality service from the federal government, while reducing the cost of delivering those services.
  • Electronic Fingerprinting:
    The NNSA Service Center implemented the electronic fingerprint solution embedded in the implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 program to further improve clearance processing times by reducing the administrative challenge of matching and copy fingerprinting cards with investigation records at the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
  • Personnel Security Case Management System:
    The NNSA Service Center continues work on a new personnel security case management system that will produce further time saving efficiencies in the clearance process.


Six Sigma Process
The NNSA Service Center reviewed its Quality Assurance Program through the Six Sigma process.  Nine of ten short-term actions identified have been completed.  In 2007, the Service Center implemented new adjudication work processes to more quickly identify and adjudicate cases with no or minor derogatory information, which will further improve clearance processing times.

Human Reliability Program
The NNSA occupies over 80% of the Human Reliability Program (HRP) positions in the DOE.  The NNSA Service Center conducts over 9000 personnel security reviews annually in support of this vital safety and security program.

In 2006, the DOE established a new counterintelligence evaluation program, including revised provisions governing the use of polygraph examinations.  The new regulatory revision involves significant changes in both program coverage and administrative procedures.  In accordance with the HRP regulations, each NNSA Site Office is required to perform a risk assessment to determine recommended designation or removal for mandatory evaluations.