SCOB: Member Recruitment

Members of the Statutory Council on Blindness (SCOB) are appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health Services to serve three-year terms. These terms are staggered to establish stability within the membership.

Annual recruitment is usually announced in the Spring of the year for terms beginning July 1. In the event that a member resigns from his position before the end of his term, the Council will recruit for a new member to fill the empty position as soon as possible. Applications for membership to the Council may be submitted at any time, but applicants should note that their materials may not be reviewed until the next active recruitment period. The active recruitment process is as follows:

NOTE: Due to the nature of the Statutory Council on Blindness as an appointed legislative body, candidates are subject to a background check prior to acceptance to the Council.

1. Request for applications

   The SCOB continues to consider applicants for positions on the Council. To be considered for a position, you must provide the information below via email, fax, or mail:

   • Resume
   • Letter of Interest with responses to the following five prompts:
     1. List organizations (programmatic, business, political, voluntary, etc.) where you are currently an active participant. Describe your role in the organization.
     2. Describe your experience, if any, working on legislative issues. What topics/concerns did you address, with whom, and what were the outcomes?
     3. Describe a leadership role you have played in your community in regard to disabilities, and/or list specific experience or knowledge that you feel makes you a qualified candidate for this Council.
     4. The Statutory Council on Blindness bylaws stipulate that seven of the nine members must be blind or visually impaired and up to two members may be sighted. If you are blind or visually impaired, please identify the nature of your impairment. If you are not, please indicated your interest in joining the council.
     5. Provide information for at least three people who can be contacted as your references. They can be people who have worked with you as discussed in prompts 1 and 2 or other individuals who know you well. Please give the person's name, title, address (work or home), email address, and phone number.

   Application materials should be sent to the Council Executive Committee for distribution to the Council's recruitment committee.

   If you have questions please email the Council Chairperson or call 608-266-2536.

2. Phone interview

   After the recruitment committee has reviewed application materials, viable candidates will be contacted via telephone to answer any supplemental questions that the committee may have. The candidates' responses to these questions will be recorded and shared with the rest of the recruitment committee

3. Reference check

   After interviewing the candidates, the chairperson of the recruitment committee will also contact the candidates' references and share their responses regarding the candidates with the rest of the recruitment committee.