Q.
What is the prescreening process?
A.
Once the AO sponsors the candidate's PIV/RLA badge request for access to NIH facilities and information systems, the NED system sends a web service call to the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) Background Investigations Tracking System (BITS) to open a case to process the candidate. At this point, DPSAC begins the prescreening process.
Prescreening includes the collection and review of the following
:
- Fingerprints
- OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment
- A copy of the resume used during the application process
- Submission of, or completed background investigation at the Tier designated by the duties/responsibilities of the individual’s position
- For federal employee candidates, DPSAC will first verify that the Office of Human Resources (OHR) package is complete by checking the following:
- OF-306 is complete in "Onboarding Manager"
- Ensure the individual has disclosed Selective Service Registration (SSR) if required. If the individual has not disclosed SSR as required, the case will be rejected and sent back to HR. (Note: Individuals who did not register for Selective Service as required may be found ineligible for employment in the federal service).
- DPSAC is in possession of the candidate's Resume, OF-8 (Official Position
- Description) and Position Description Document.
Q.
How does DPSAC determine whether a background investigation is required?
A.
Once the HR 'package' is collected, DPSAC will validate the individual's need for a new background investigation. Federal investigation repositories are searched for an investigation that would meet or exceed the requirements of the current Position Designation Sensitivity and Risk Level.
Candidates with a favorably adjudicated Background Investigation on file
DPSAC will order the prior investigation, collect and review the results of prescreening to determine if the candidate's prior investigation can be reciprocally accepted for their position at NIH. Non-FTEs (i.e., Contractors, Affiliates) will be required to submit 2 years' worth of employment history to determine if a break in service exists since the investigation was completed. Federal Employees (FTEs) will submit their resume.
If there are any issues with the prescreening results, or if the issues in the previous investigation are incompatible with the duties of the candidate's new position, DPSAC will attempt to mitigate these issues as part of the reciprocal acceptance review. Additional investigative checks may be required if the issues cannot be mitigated, or if the investigation cannot be reciprocally accepted.
Candidates without a Background Investigation on file
These individuals will be initiated into the electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) to complete a new background investigation at the level determined by the duties and responsibilities of their current position at NIH. DPSAC will send the candidate instructions on completing e-QIP and other background forms.