Remember how I said it was your government? Well, so are the records that it keeps, with certain exceptions, and you’ve got a right to request to see those records if you ask politely and offer to pay the costs of copying and finding them.
The first thing you’ll want to do if figure out exactly what records you want. Â Talk to people who work at the place you’re interested in. Look at regulations that govern the group, federal, state, county and city. You’ll need to KNOW what you want.
How do you request the information?  Two primary tools you’ll want  to learn to use:
The federal Freedom of Information Act  http://www.foia.gov/
Your state Open Records Acts. This website lists links for each state http://www.nfoic.org/
Those sites also contain sample and template request forms.
Make sure you keep track of the dates. Agencies have a a certain amount ot time