Industry’s asking DCSA for transparency on continuous vetting, and they’re right to push. The shift away from periodic reinvestigations was overdue—automated alerts surface issues faster, and investigators can focus where it matters. But contractors are now sitting on open CV alerts with no clear timeline, which means cleared talent stuck in limbo and programs short a body.
LaToya Coleman from ManTech raised the core issue at the NISPPAC meeting: adjudication delays are keeping people off mission. If an employee needs to move to a new program and there’s an open alert, the process stops cold. Without metrics or projected timelines, FSOs can’t plan, and candidates can’t make informed decisions. DCSA’s Tom Giancoli acknowledged the agency is working to gather more data, but the system is processing nearly a million industry employees—948,000 at last count—so the scale is real.
The volume is staggering. DHS processed over 500,000 CV alerts in one quarter, with a 13-day average adjudication and 92% classified as low risk. Energy’s system flagged more than half a million alerts in a single quarter, though they expect that number to drop as DCSA takes over triage. The model works when alerts are triaged well and resolved fast. When they’re not, you get friction at the worst possible time—when someone’s trying to start work or transition between contracts.
Coleman’s suggestion to route alerts through FSOs instead of going straight to the clearance holder makes sense. Industry has infrastructure in place to manage these issues efficiently, and FSOs already coordinate with adjudicators on other clearance matters. If DCSA wants continuous vetting to deliver on its promise, transparency and process refinement aren’t optional—they’re the price of admission.