Perspecta to Build Background Check Management System for DCSA

Perspecta is set to begin the production of its background check management system under a $474 million contract awarded by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

The award, which was made under an other transaction agreement, has a one-year base period and four one-year options.

DCSA entered into a contract with Perspecta to build the system to support its background investigative duties, C4ISRNET reported Tuesday.

The agency was designated as the federal government’s primary background investigator in 2019, taking over the now-defunct National Background Investigation Bureau of the Office of Personnel Management.

The current goal for DCSA is to be able to manage about 95 percent of the federal government’s background investigations.

The task has been hampered by the government’s huge backlog of checks.

According to a report from DCSA, the federal government still had 188,000 security clearance backlog cases as of May 2020. Those cases were trimmed down from a peak of 725,000 active investigations in April 2018.

Perspecta began working on a prototype for the background check management system in 2019.

The company’s solution will be integrated into a comprehensive information technology system that DCSA uses for security vetting of federal employees and contractors.

The production OTA comes weeks after Perspecta announced its inclusion in the Department of Homeland Security’s multiple-award blanket purchase agreement for background investigative services.

Companies selected for the BPA will support the background investigation needs of participating DHS components. Services provided under the BPA will benefit DHS applicants, employees and contractors performing sensitive work.