My daughter is applying for a Secret clearance via form sf86. She works for a
private consulting firm and hasn’t a current contract with a Federal agency.
Her background and record is spotless.
I worked for a Federal agency for several decades (with clearances) and retired 14 years ago. Prior to my retirement, I was subject to an internal agency investigation. The investigation concerned serious misconduct on my part which occurred nearly 40 years ago, but only came to the attention of my agency 15 years ago. The investigation resulted in a recommendation for my dismissal,
and the revocation of my clearances. At which point I resigned- I was elegible for retirement at that point.
My misconduct nearly 40 years ago did not lead to any charge, conviction,
or interaction with law enforcement. I have no criminal record of any kind.
My concern is that since I am listed as a
parent on my daughter’s sf86, that my records at my former Federal agency will be accessed and all the derogatory information therein will be provided to whomever is processing my daughter’s sf86 security application.
If that is the case, is there any chance that my daughter would be questioned about my derogatory information? Many family members are aware of the circumstances of my resigning from the Federal agency 14 years ago, but my daughter does not. And I hope I can keep it that way.
Or, would whomever is doing the security investigation contact me instead, if they felt there were any unresolved issues?
I emphasize that my misconduct took place 38 years ago, 10 years before my daughter was born, and I have no criminal record. What I do have is a clearance revocation 14 years ago.
No one will access any records pertaining to you for her background investigation. Parents and siblings who are born outside of the U.S. are screened for immigration status. You have nothing to worry about.
Thanks for the reply- it’s reassuring. I’m sure I am being paranoid. However, when I looked at the form sf86 PDF it indicated that “Federal agency records checks may be may be conducted on your [applicant’s] spouse, cohabitant(s), and immediate family members.”
My wife and I were born in the U.S. so there are no naturalization/immigration issues.
When I had my interview 18 months ago, I noted that my father had been arrested and plead guilty to drug charges about 40 years ago. The investigator wrote it down and it appeared in her report but nobody cared. It wasn’t developed as part of the investigation. I raised it myself.
With the new Tier guidelines, having a family member engaged in “felonious or ongoing criminal actions” is an issue. Depending on the level of the clearance, investigators have to interview people who have knowledge of the family member’s criminal activity. Now, we don’t specifically ask a subject if they have relatives engaged in criminal behavior, so it has to come up in normal questioning. Or it comes up as information from a previous investigation that needs to be discussed. In most circumstances, it comes up because a family member is in jail and that is the address listed on the case papers. Your question isn’t clear as to whether your daughter has knowledge of your indiscretions…and I doubt that they would fall into the categories of felonious or ongoing, but she would have to admit to it. We would never confront her with information that was found on your background investigation.
IThanks for the message. My daughter is unaware of what I did 38 years ago (10 years before she was born) and she is likewise unaware of the administrative action my former Federal employer took (14 years ago) which led to my resignation and revocation of clearances.
If I may say so . . . She should know what happened to you. It will likely come out at some point anyway and you can get in front and use it as a teaching tool now that she is moving into the clearance arena.
If she knows about it, it can’t be used against either of you.
I agree with edfarmer. It’s best just to come clean. Let your daughter know about your past sins. God will not look favorably on your transgressions. Perhaps join her during her subject interview and tell the investigator what you’ve done. Lack of candor is bad idea