Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness
Office of Personnel Vetting and Credential Management
The Office of Personnel Vetting and Credential Management (PVCM) contributes to a safe and secure environment for the Department of Veterans Affairs through ensuring trust in our VA workforce — appointees, employees, contractors, and affiliates. PVCM ensures alignment, accountability, and transparency of VA’s Personnel Vetting, Credential Management, and HSPD-12 programs and provides central coordination and oversight of the Department’s personnel vetting and credential management infrastructure.
This is accomplished through the following: the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12)/Credential Management (CM) Program Management Office (PMO), the Personnel Vetting (PV) PMO, and the Personnel Security Adjudication Center (PSAC).
HSPD-12 is the government-wide Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors, issued in 2011, to ensure the use of the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credential is required as the common means of authentication for access to VA’s facilities, networks and information systems (logical and physical access controls). HSPD-12 and its common identification standard require personal identity verification (PIV), background investigations, and suitability determinations for all affected personnel. The HSPD-12 Program Office provides Departmental policy and guidance, management, communications, training, deficiency requirements, and oversight for identity and access implementation programs
The Personnel Vetting (PV) PMO establishes and enforces VA compliance with personnel security and suitability policies and regulations. PV provides broad Department-wide policy direction, standard setting, coordination, and performance assessment for organizational components within VA and carries out VA’s responsibilities to maintain a suitability program; including policy direction, standard setting, coordination, and performance assessment for organizational components for making suitability and fitness determinations within VA.
The PSAC processes and adjudicates background investigations for all moderate risk, high risk public trust, and national security positions for federal employees and contractors. The PSAC provides resources and facilitates requests for the VA Human Resource offices, Contracting Officers, and Contracting Officer Representatives that initiate background investigations.
