Terminating parental rights??? Los Angeles County

Hi all! We started our adoption :cheer: :cheer: We filed our papers and had out interview with the social worker which went GREAT! =) So now we have to file the petition to terminate his rights and I am SOOOO confused. They gave me the packet that includes the citation and all that so that's great. Here are my questions.. and some info.. He has never resided in the county of Los Angeles. I have not known his whereabouts for almost 5 years. He is a drifter and doesn't really have family. I know his mothers name and the full names of only 2 friends. But do not have any contact info for them. So.. do I do an internet search for him and get his last known addresses and phone numbers? Do I call those and ask if he is currently residing there and if not where? I would assume someone would ask me WHY I was looking for him and thats not info I want to give out. Do I have to send some sort of letter to the addresses that I get? Basically I'm asking what kind of "searching" is enough that the judge would say "Ok you tried go for publication"?? I don't want to talk to these **** people. Bleh. The thing that confuses me is in my packet theres a "declaration of search" where I would show how I conducted my searches. But then it says "If the citee has NEVER resided in the county of Los Angeles the application should state "Declaration of search is not required" So I don't have to show proof of my searches? Wth? AND For personal service "Notice and acknowledgment of reciept is to be prepared only when the citation is mailed within the state of CA" So I when he is served I don't have to have acknowledgment of receipt? PLEASE HELP! I'm about to hire a paralegal or lawyer just for these questions and I feel like that would be a real waste of money. Thank you so much! JD