Mac Bledsoe, father of former New England Patriots player Drew Bledsoe, will serve as guest speaker at the Barnstable District Probation Department’s Fatherhood Program ceremony on Friday, June 13, 5 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church, Route 6A, Barnstable.

 

          The elder Bledsoe is an author and speaker. He, together with his wife Barbara, penned “Parenting with Dignity,” and developed a curriculum based on the book. The book and curriculum are offered through the Drew Bledsoe Foundation. “Parenting with Dignity” is described by the Foundation as a “resource where parents learn new, essential parenting skills giving them the tools necessary to create an encouraging, and loving home for their children.”

 

          “Our children don’t need to be ‘fixed,’ parents need to become better at what they do,” Bledsoe said.

 

          Nine fathers will participate in the ceremony this week. Approximately 131 have graduated from the program since it was first established in 1997 in Barnstable by Probation Officer J. Robert “Bob” Smith. It is one of the longest running Fatherhood Programs in the state.

 

          The Fatherhood Program is the “brainchild” of Steve Bocko, a Deputy Commissioner who was a Chief Probation Officer for the Training Division in the Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) when he and Norfolk Juvenile Court Chief Probation Officer Thomas Mitchell created the program. Both men started the program about 12 years ago when they discovered a common thread among male probationers under supervision. “An overwhelming majority had little or no contact with their own fathers,” Mitchell said. There are Fatherhood Programs in nearly each of the 14 counties throughout the Commonwealth.

 

          The Fatherhood Program was designed to encourage fathers to play a more significant role in the lives of their children by emphasizing the importance of their behavior as a model for their children, according to Probation Officer Bob Smith. The Program is based on the following five principles:

 

1. As a father, it is my responsibility to give Affection to my children. 2. As a father, it is my responsibility to give Gentle Guidance to my children. 3. As a father, it is my responsibility to give Financial Support to my children and to the mother of my children. 4. As a father, it is my responsibility to Demonstrate Respect at all times to the mother of my children. 5. As a father, it is my responsibility to set a Proud Example for my children by living within the law and without the taint of alcohol and drug abuse.

          Each meeting consists of the members sharing how they have used one of these principles in the past week. The Fatherhood Program also features guest speakers which include judges, clergy and social service providers. The program is held once a week for 12 weeks and is offered twice a year, in the spring and the fall.

 

          The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 12 Superior Court, 70 District Court, and 12 Probate and Family Court probation offices throughout the Commonwealth. Probation’s Juvenile Court system includes 11 divisions which represent every county in the state. There are more than 20 Community Corrections Centers. The Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) serves as the central administrative office for the Massachusetts Probation Service and the Office of Community Corrections.