DHS cancels federal neurodiversity workforce contract

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has cancelled a contract project aimed at filling talent gaps by improving the recruitment and retention of people with autism and other neurodivergent conditions.

The contract’s termination upends a years-long effort, started under the first Trump administration, to recognize neurodiversity across the federal government. Data from CISA’s pilot project would have helped inform broader efforts to fill talent gaps at the Department of Homeland Security and across agencies.

DHS terminated the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s “neurodiverse federal workforce” contract with MITRE on Jan. 23. In the public notice, DHS and CISA gave little explanation for the contract’s termination.

The contract was sponsored by CISA’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility. Shortly after taking power, the Trump administration began broadly targeting all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts across government, closing DEIA offices and terminating related programs.

DHS has listed CISA’s neurodiversity contract on a website of projects cancelled as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce “wasteful spending.” Those contract reviews are being led by officials with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

But the neurodiversity contract’s cancellation came after the contract’s maximum value $1.4 million was already obligated, public contract records show. A DHS spreadsheet shows the contract cancellation saved zero dollars.

A source familiar with the CISA project said it was nearly completed. This person was granted anonymity to speak about the contract without fear of retaliation.

The source said several people had already completed an “externship” with CISA as part of the pilot project. Two people involved in the program were in the process of getting hired by CISA when the agency cancelled the contract, according to the source. The Trump administration had also instituted a hiring freeze across most of the federal government.

The termination of the contract effectively ended CISA’s pilot program, leaving the future of federal neurodiversity efforts in limbo.

Tara Cunningham, an expert in neurodivergent employment models who contributed to a federal “playbook” for neurodiversity, said CISA’s project would have yielded key data for future updates to federal personnel practices, including the playbook.

“We almost had the data. We were about to go through and do the rewrite,” Cunningham said. “It will be stuck in time now. We’re not going to have any of the lessons learned carried forward.”

MITRE referred all questions on the contract’s cancellation to CISA. A CISA spokesman declined to comment for this story.

A series of pilot projects

“Neurodiversity” is an umbrella term that broadly refers to differences in brain functioning. Autism, attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder, and dyslexia are among the most common examples of neuro-divergent conditions.

Neurodivergent individuals make up a growing segment of the population, but many are unemployed or underemployed due to barriers in traditional recruitment and selection processes.

CISA’s project was the latest step in a neurodiversity initiative that started under the first Trump administration.

MITRE’s work was initially funded under a 2019 prize challenge run by the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration. In describing the neurodiversity project, officials wrote that a “successful pilot can increase the number of talented cybersecurity workers in the federal government while reducing underemployment among those on the autism spectrum.”

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency then partnered with MITRE on the federal government’s first neurodiversity pilot in 2021. CISA’s project sought to build off NGA’s pilot.

The now-cancelled CISA contract shows the cyber agency viewed the pilot as a chance to address a nationwide “cybersecurity and technology workforce gap.”

“Neurodivergent individuals, which include those with autism, when aligned to individual aptitudes such as cybersecurity skills and abilities, may find a strong fit within the federal workforce, especially when given proper training and support,” the now-cancelled CISA contract states. “However, there are still gaps in understanding how to effectively recruit, evaluate, hire, and sustain neurodivergent technical talent.”

Experts in neurodiversity say pilot projects like CISA’s don’t lower assessment standards, but create accommodations for people who process information differently, such as those with autism.

“The federal government as an employer is no different than the private employers that need to create processes and cultures that tap into people’s talents to add value to the communities we serve,” said Hala Annabi, an associate professor at the University of Washington and lead author of a series of playbooks on neurodiversity, including the federal edition released last year.

Both NGA and CISA’s pilots sought to eliminate the reliance on traditional job interviews and resumes. Instead, the projects established alternative assessments to determine whether candidates had the skills and aptitude necessary to fill a role.

Cunningham said the first Trump administration selected MITRE’s pilot project because agencies were struggling to fill key technical positions in areas like cybersecurity.

“They could not find people for these roles,” Cunningham said.

During NGA’s pilot, many existing employees also came forward to share their neurodivergent diagnoses. A recent poll found 19% of Americans say they are neuro-divergent.

“The ‘Neurodiversity @ Work’ playbook, and neuro-inclusion broadly, is about being intentional about how we design workplace processes that help us focus on the work and focus on the strengths of people who think about and interact with the world in different ways,” Annabi said. “That includes neuro-distinct people as well as neurotypical people.”

The federal neurodiversity playbook was not funded by the cancelled CISA contract. But experts saw the CISA’s pilot as a key next step in expanding neurodiversity best practices across government. But that goal is now in question after CISA contract’s termination and the ongoing push to cancel any efforts associated with DEIA.

The Office of Personnel Management did not answer questions about its stance on neurodiversity initiatives. But asked whether OPM had specifically directed agencies to eliminate neurodiversity programs, OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover shared a link to Feb. 5 guidance on ending DEIA offices, programs and initiatives.

Neurodiversity advocates say the federal government can’t ignore differences in cognitive functioning for long. They point to the increase in neurodivergent diagnoses across the general population, as well as the ageing of the federal workforce. Agencies are also on the hunt for key technical talent in areas like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Meanwhile, major corporations such as Microsoft and Goldman Sachs continue to invest in neurodiversity hiring programs.

“They’re still investing in this, because it makes them money, it makes them more competitive, and it makes their teams more productive,” Cunningham said.

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