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.
The scale is real: DoE flagged over 500,000 alerts in a single quarter, though most turned out to be noise. DHS processed a similar volume and adjudicated the average alert in 13 days, with 92% classified low-risk. That’s the system working. But when a high-side alert lands and drags for weeks without resolution, the FSO has no visibility and the candidate’s career is on hold. DCSA says it’s gathering data; industry needs that data yesterday, along with a process that loops in facility security officers early.
Continuous vetting is the right model. Now we need the operational discipline to make it predictable.