The Statutory Council on Blindness (SCOB) is a nine-member body whose purpose is to make recommendations to the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and other state agencies on services, activities, programs, investigations, and research that affect persons of Wisconsin who are blind or visually impaired. The nine members of the Council are appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health Services to serve three-year terms and are eligible to reapply to serve a second three-year term at the conclusion of the first.

Per Wisconsin Statute §47.01(1) and §47.01(5), at least seven of the nine appointed members must be blind or visually impaired, and the members must reflect a broad representation of blind or visually impaired persons. All Council members must have an interest in and demonstrated knowledge of the problems of the blind and visually impaired. More detailed functions of the SCOB are specified in Wisconsin Statute §47.03(9).

The Statutory Council on Blindness meets quarterly to discuss issues and recommendations for state agencies regarding people who are blind or visually impaired. These meetings are open to the public. Public meeting notices, agendas, and meeting minutes can be found on our meetings page. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Statutory Council on Blindness, visit the recruitment page for more information.

If you encounter any issues or have concerns that affect the blind community, we invite you to join us at an upcoming meeting or submit a public comment to present your issue to the Council for review. To contact the Statutory Council on Blindness with questions, comments, or for more information, send an email to the Council liaison at anastasia.detert@wisconsin.gov.