The Department’s Implementation of the Contractor Personnel Security Clearance Process

In this audit, we presented the results of our review of the Office of Management, the office responsible for Department-wide oversight of the contractor personnel security screening process. It combined the results of work conducted within the Office of Management and two principal offices—the Institute of Education Sciences and FSA. We found that the Department had not effectively implemented requirements for the contractor personnel security screening process. Specifically, the Office of Management did not provide adequate guidance or oversight of theprocess to ensure that key requirements of Office of Management Directive: 5-101, Contractor Employee Personnel Security Screenings(Directive), July 16, 2010, were implemented and that contractors had appropriate screenings. The Office of Management did not ensure the Directive was updated to reflect Federal requirements and Department practices established subsequent to the issuance of the Directive.Additionally, the Office of Management did not comply with its own requirements in the Directive, to include ensuring that principal offices submitted their specific procedures for complying with the Directive, providing notice to principal offices of final adjudication determinations, and coordinating with principal offices with regard to contract position and risk designation. We also found that the Office of Management did not ensure the timeliness of security screening activities, ensure contractor employee screening information maintained was accurate and reliable, or provide adequate training to principal offices with regard to process requirements and responsibilities.