Federal Workforce: Observations on the Implementation of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 Personnel Vetting Reform Initiative

What GAO Found

In July 2024, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the final updated core policies related to implementing Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0), a government-wide initiative for improving personnel vetting processes. However, delays associated with the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) IT system have slowed further progress. In September 2024, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)—the agency that is developing NBIS—completed a new 36-month "roadmap" that projects NBIS product development milestones through fiscal year 2027.

Federal agencies and contractors GAO surveyed reported on their experiences with TW 2.0 implementation thus far.

Agencies

• Agencies reported that the primary benefit of TW 2.0 implementation as of September 2024 has been the ability to access real-time information on personnel, primarily through continuous vetting (CV). CV replaces periodic reinvestigations with ongoing automated record checks of public and government data, agency-specific data, and certain time- or event-driven investigative activities and provides alerts that prompt further investigation. Agencies reported they have found this valuable. For example, one agency told GAO that CV allowed them "to mitigate risk … for continued trust of current individuals as well as new hires [from other agencies who] are being accepted as a trusted individual."
• Agencies also reported multiple challenges with implementing TW 2.0—most related to technology and resources. For example, about 98 percent of agencies for which the question was applicable reported that adapting their personnel vetting IT systems to the requirements of TW 2.0 has been at least somewhat challenging. One agency noted it had used resources to support a new case adjudication system planned for the NBIS system. After months of establishing workflows and partnering with [DCSA], they were told that the new adjudication system would be cancelled. The agency stated that without a new system, it will be unable to adhere to the new TW 2.0 reporting metrics.
• About 51 percent of the agencies GAO surveyed reported that their ability to manage risk while onboarding new personnel had at least somewhat improved under the implementation of TW 2.0 thus far. About 27 percent reported that there had been no change; about 9 percent reported somewhat reduced ability to manage risk; and about 13 percent reported they had no basis to judge.

Contractors

• An estimated 40 percent of contractors reported at least some improvement in the efficiency of the process for requesting a security clearance, while an estimated 45 percent reported faster preliminary determinations for interim security clearances. In related narrative responses, one contractor said timelier preliminary determinations allow contractors to assign personnel to jobs more quickly.
• An estimated 52 percent of contractors reported challenges obtaining information about ongoing background investigations, and an estimated 35 percent reported challenges obtaining information about CV alerts. In narrative responses, contractors also said system inefficiencies—especially those related to NBIS—increased their workloads. For example, one contractor said that the delayed migration from previous systems to NBIS forced contractor security officials to "put information into two [IT] systems," a challenge that is "very time consuming."
• Nearly half of all contractors—an estimated 45 percent—said the implementation of TW 2.0 had not changed their ability to manage risk when onboarding new personnel, while an estimated 22 percent said their ability to manage risk had improved. An estimated 8 percent said their ability to manage risk had been somewhat reduced, while an estimated 25 percent had no basis to judge.

Why GAO Did This Study

Personnel vetting processes help ensure the trustworthiness of the federal government's workforce, which, among other things, helps prevent unauthorized disclosure of classified information. These processes provide a method to determine whether personnel are and remain over time (1) eligible to access classified information or to hold a sensitive position; (2) suitable or fit for government employment or to serve as contractor employees; or (3) eligible to access agency systems or facilities.

Officials designed TW 2.0's reforms to streamline government-wide personnel vetting and address problems, such as lengthy background investigations, inconsistent practices across agencies, and security concerns. These and other problems within the personnel vetting processes can negatively affect the ability of federal agencies and contractors to onboard new personnel, manage risk, and achieve objectives.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 includes a provision for GAO to survey federal agencies, federal contractors, and other persons that require security clearances to access classified information to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative. GAO reviewed agency documents, interviewed officials, and surveyed a sample of federal agencies and a generalizable sample of federal contractors.

For more information, contact Alissa Czyz at CzyzA@gao.gov.