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Access Procedures for Computer Resources - Background Investigations

All employees, partners, contractors, and affiliates working in NRCS or USDA facilities for six months or more, and/or requiring access to the USDA network (USDA computer or Virtual Private Networ [VPN] account) for 30 days or more, must have a minimum level National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) background investigation.

To initiate a background investigation, a packet containing the following forms is required. All the forms can be typewritten or legibly handwritten (fillable forms are available, with the exception of the fingerprint chart, on the Kansas NRCS Frequently Used Forms Web page).

  1. Standard Form (SF) 85 - Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions*
  2. Optional Form (OF) 612 - Optional Application for Federal Employment or resume
  3. OF-306 - Declaration for Federal Employment (Office of Personnel Management [OPM] requirement, even for non-federal employees)
  4. SF-87 - Fingerprint Chart (two charts must be submitted)

Please note that the fingerprinting can only be done on the SF-87. OPM will not accept local police department fingerprint charts. An extra SF-87 should be taken to the fingerprinting location in case of an error. Fingerprint charts are available through each NRCS area office (AO). Additional charts can be obtained by calling the Human Resources Staff at the state office (SO)

* SF-85 - This form will be completed on-line through the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) Gateway. Once a business e-mail address has been established for a new employee, the e-QIP Invite will be submitted and the employee will receive an e-mail invitation with information to complete the SF-85 through e-QIP. Upon completion, there will be two signature pages that must be printed, signed, dated, and sent by overnight mail to the HR Staff in the state office. The signature pages and the remainder of the background investigation packet are submitted for the investigation. There are time constraints on submitting the paperwork for the investigation once the SF-85 has been completed so it is important to send the signature pages promptly. The signature pages CANNOT be faxed.

NRCS will pay for the cost of the background investigation for NRCS employees. For affiliate employees, refer to Local Operating Agreements for who is responsible for the cost of the affiliate background investigation. Contact the appropriate state office program manager if you have any questions.

Volunteers

As with employees and contractors, volunteers are required to have a background investigation when specific work-related conditions exist, as described below.

Volunteers that have unsupervised access to a federally-controlled information system and/or federally-controlled facilities or space within a facility, for more than 180 days, are required to be cleared through a background investigation.

The 180-day period begins the first day a volunteer is officially affiliated with the NRCS and ends exactly 180 calendar days later, regardless of the frequency or duration of the work activity. As an example, a volunteer begins work on August 24 and works for one week. One month later, the volunteer works one more week. Under this scenario, the volunteer is already 60 days into his or her 180-day period.

Volunteers working in offices without a background investigation must be supervised, even if their work is not computer-based. Mere access to the facility requires supervision.

Volunteers working less than 180 days and not in need of access to federally-controlled information systems but, as part of their duties, require sporadic physical access to part of the facility that has access to such systems, do not have to have a background investigation.

Volunteers working less than 180 days and accessing a computer that is not tied into the USDA network, do not have to have a background investigation. As an example, a supervised volunteer comes into your office one or two times and uses a stand-alone computer to make labels for a special mailing.

NRCS will bear the cost of the background investigation and the fingerprinting. Judicious attention is to be used in determining which volunteers need to have a background investigation. Volunteers should complete a SF-1164 for reimbursement when there is a charge for fingerprinting, as some counties do not charge for the service. The SF-1164 should be submitted to the AO for processing.

Volunteers required to have a background security investigation are also required to complete Information Systems Security Awareness training. A Web-based course is available on AgLearn for those who have a USDA computer and eAuthentication account. The annual training will be added to the AgLearn training plan.

For those without computer access, see information on Security Awareness Training. NRCS employees will make the training available by printing copies, as needed, from the Web site. The trainee will complete an assessment and send to the Training Officer at the state office.

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Last Modified: 12/30/2008