NY Phasing Out Sheltered Workshops

Janet Sugar's daughter, Rachel, used to work part time in a dress store, hanging up clothing."No one paid any attention to her. Sometimes she might eat, sometimes she didn't," said Janet Sugar, who lives in Mount Vernon. "My daughter is autistic so she can sit for hours staring into space."Since October 2009, Rachel Sugar has been in a sheltered workshop at the nonprofit C.A.R.C. Inc.-Keon Center in Peekskill, where she does piece work with other developmentally disabled adults and gets more help and nurturing, her mom said. She does tasks like packaging powder, assembling trophies, tagging clothes and helping in the cafe.