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SECURITY CLEARANCE AND BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR NPC
EMPLOYEES
Discussion
As part of the WOC process, almost all NPC employees must go
through some degree of security clearance and background check. The
Department of Veterans' Affairs Security and Investigations Center conducts
security and background checks for the VA.
VA security regulations are contained in VA Handbook 0710, Personnel and
National Information Security:
http://www.va.gov/pubs/handbooks/General-Management/0710h.pdf
or on the VA intranet:
http://vaww.va.gov/pubs/handbooks/General-Management/0710h.pdf
Depending on an NPC
employee's position description or statement of work, an employee will go through one of
the five investigations described below. Duration of the WOC appointment has no impact on
whether an employee undergoes an investigation except for VA appointees
in non-sensitive positions whose period of employment is
specifically limited to 6 months or less in the following categories: per
diem, temporary, seasonal, and intermittent. Most employees will probably go through one of the first
two investigations.
The most basic level of investigation is called
the NACI or National Agency Check with Written Inquiry. This is for
employees in non-sensitive positions (i.e., clerical support, mail clerks, etc.).
Employees who
have
access to patient information (i.e., dealing with patients directly and/or inputting
data into the computer system) or accounting information will be required to have an MBI
or Minimum Background Investigation. Employees who pass either of
these investigations will receive a Certificate of Eligibility that is good for 5
years. On rare occasions information received during an MBI may trigger the next
level investigation called the LBI - Limited Background
Investigation. An LBI will look further into credit and character
issues. NPC Employees will not fall under the top two levels of
investigation (BI - Background Investigation - for Service Chiefs, Medical
Center Directors, etc.; or SSBI - Single Scope Background Investigation -
for individuals with who need access to National Security or top secret
information).
At this time, VHA has not decided whether a
WOC appointment is equivalent to a contractor for purposes of the security
clearance and background check. In any case, NPCs should be aware
that there are costs incurred when performing these investigations and
each VAMC may have a different procedure for handling the payment.
All VA appointees are required to complete
the following forms:
In addition, VA appointees are required to complete one of the
following forms/investigations:
Background investigations may take up to 120 days.
NPCs are encouraged to work with their affiliated VA Medical Center to
ensure that all NPC employees have undergone the appropriate security and
background investigation process.
Helpful documents and links:
http://www.va.gov/pubs/handbooks/General-Management/0710h.pdf
VHA Handbook 0710 - Personnel and
Classified Information Security
VHA Handbook 0710, Appendix A - Position
Risk and Sensitivity Level Designation
VHA Directive 0710 - Personnel and
Classified Information Security
VA Security and Investigations Center http://www.va.gov/sic/default.html
Compliance with NPC Statute and VA Requirements >
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