At the 9-12u years it does not matter what affiliation you have, it is all about proper development. You can play whatever umbrella you want but if the coaches do not teach the fundamentals and challenge the players to get better, what is the difference.
The same goes for the "select" travel teams, you can play with or against the best competition you can find but if the players are not trained or developed and just get kicked around, what is the advantage of paying the extra cost of playing for a "select" team.
I agree, if you want the youth programs to be a pipeline for your high school, send coaches or players down to help develop them, but in California if not positioned correctly it may be called recruiting and it is against CIF contact rules.