PRE-SECURITY CLEARANCE COUNSELING
Disclaimer: The following articles are provided for information purposes only and are not to be construed as actual legal advice nor take the place of legal counsel.
There are a number of different types of cases that are commonly referred to as “security clearance” cases. The three most common situations are those involving: 1) Public Trust Positions; 2) National Security Positions; and, 3) Special Access Programs.
Public Trust Positions are those that have the potential for adverse impact to the integrity and efficiency of the particular agency’s mission. They are sensitive in nature and do not require a security clearance but do require a background investigation to determine “suitability” to be assigned to the position.
National Security Positions are the true “security clearance” cases. These are positions that have the potential to cause damage to the national security and require access to classified information. The levels of classified access are Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.
Special Access Programs (SAP) concerns any program imposing “need-to-know” or access controls beyond those normally provided for access to confidential, secret, or top secret information. The most common SAP cases are those dealing with access to sensitive compartmented information (SCI). While the applicable DoD directive is specifically stated to be not applicable to SAP determinations, the substantive decisions in these cases are based on the same “guidelines” as found in the directive.
While there are potentially substantial differences in these cases, the general adjudication of these cases tends to be somewhat similar.
We can provide counseling concerning the proper responses to questions on the numerous national security clearance/public trust position questionnaires (e.g., SF 85, 85P, 85P-S, 86, 86A, 86C, OF306, EPSQ/e-QIP, or DD 1879), what events need to be reported and the consequences for not reporting certain events. This service will provide a greater opportunity to obtain a positive clearance outcome for the individual and a greater percentage of cleared employees for the contractor. We provide this service to individuals seeking assistance or to all employees of government contractors that have retained our services. In this regard, the most commonly used form is the SF-86. Copies of both an SF-86 and an SF-86 worksheet are available on our website for your use.
Regardless of when in the process we get involved, and whether you are an employee of the federal government or an employee of a company that has contracted with the federal government, we can help in the adjudication of your case based on the requirements of DoD Directive 5220.6 (the “directive”) which establishes the substantive adjudication criteria for “security clearance” determinations. This directive is utilized by all federal agencies in the adjudication process. Each agency is permitted to establish its own procedural mechanism for applying the “directive.”