Can a function return a custom TYPE?

[12centuries]

You can't use User Defined Types as the function return itself, but you can use them as a parameter and pass the value back and forth.   
[...]
As you can see, you can pass those values via parameter; just not as a return through the function itself.

Ah, I completely forgot about that. It's like passing a parameter by reference in other languages. Thank you!

I would use the function and return i%
when returned you might want to know if the config_item was changed

That is very good point! I was just going with "IF LEN(config_item.label) THEN" but I like your way better. Thank you!