NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A former employee at the Chad Youth Center is speaking out about what she saw there.

Video: Former Worker Describes Youth Center Violence

Two children have died while patients at the center, and an investigation is under way into the deaths.

“From what I witnessed, there were times when some employees were wrong,” the woman said.

She asked that her identity not be given.

The woman said the job was very high-turnover and high-burnout while they were paid fast-food wages for working with some of the country’s toughest children from some of the country’s toughest inner-cities.

She said fights broke out nearly every day. She said children would jump each other, throw chairs, head-butt staff members and more.

“I’ve seen kids attack workers, and I’ve been hit by these kids and even when I have done nothing to them but be nice,” she said.

She said one co-worker would restrain children against the wall or on the floor when they weren’t being a threat.

“She really felt she was doing her job,” the woman said.

The co-worker she referred to was not fired, she said, because there was no one to take her place.

State workers found the same problem when they investigated a 2004 case. A staff member was charged with assaulting a patient.

In an internal memo, the Department of Children’s Services wrote that there were two or three other incidents with the same worker but the worker was kept because the center was understaffed.

The woman said because of the short staff and the high turnover rate, some workers were forced to work extremely long hours.

The woman also said there were positives to working at Chad. She said there were staff members who really wanted to help the children who needed it badly.

Contact the advocacy center by visiting their Web site or call Channel 4 News reporter Nancy Amons at 353-2284.